Each Buffett Undergraduate Research Fellow will be eligible to earn up to $4,150 total through a paid research assistantship ($16.60 per hour for up to 250 hours, carried out over the summer and/or any subsequent quarters during the 2026–27 academic year). Some research projects may require or have an option for international travel. If so, this will be clearly stated in the position description, having been approved in advance. In these cases, international travel support is available and is administered by the faculty mentor.

Research Fellows will work and meet regularly with their faculty mentor to carry out meaningful research under their supervision—they will not be expected to simply make photocopies or proofread manuscripts. The day-to-day responsibilities of each research fellow will differ based on the research project for which they are selected.

Faculty can pre-select a research fellow or list a research fellow position for which any student can apply. Once all job search applications are reviewed, faculty interview and select their research fellow(s). The application requires students to upload a cover letter and resume and to indicate the research project(s) in which they are most interested. Faculty mentors conduct interviews with job search applicants at the start of spring quarter and notifications of selection are made in early May.

Once a fellowship offer is formally accepted, students may not pursue other opportunities that conflict with the commitment made through the fellowship. We understand accepting a fellowship offer is a significant decision and invite students at any application stage to discuss further with the Buffett Undergraduate Programs team, and to have open conversations with the faculty mentor throughout the interview process.

Research Fellows with multiple on-campus appointments must coordinate with their supervisors to comply with university policy and prevent overtime work.

Work-Study

If a Research Fellow is work-study eligible (as denoted in their financial aid award letter accessible through CAESAR), the fellowship position will normally be converted to work-study during eligible quarters. Prior to conversion, Research Fellows are given the opportunity to notify us if they are unable to use their work-study award for this position (for example, due to another on-campus job that requires work-study funding). If no such notification is received, the position will be converted to work-study.

In cases where the position is converted to work-study, the total number of hours allotted to the project will not be increased.

Note: Work-study allotment and eligibility do not impact likelihood of selection for this program.

Review criteria differ based on the research project(s) for which a student applies. Prior research experience is not required, but certain faculty mentors may have requirements for skills needed to effectively support their research project, such as proficiency in a specific foreign language. 

As a part of the application, all students are asked to indicate the research project(s) for which they would like to apply and upload a cover letter and resume highlighting any relevant previous experience, skills or coursework.

Applicants may indicate up to 2 projects for which they would like to be considered and must submit a separate cover letter for each project in order to be considered. Please provide the link(s) to the project(s) for which you would like to apply and note in the title of the cover letter the project you are applying for with that letter. (i.e., "ProjectName, Your LastName Cover Letter").

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Questions? Please e-mail Buffett-Undergrad-Programs@northwestern.edu.

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