University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
NSF SOARS is an undergraduate-to-graduate bridge and career-pathways programme in the atmospheric and Earth system sciences, run through UCAR in Boulder, Colorado. Rather than a single summer, participants can return for up to four summers as undergraduates or graduate students, each an eleven-week research session running from mid-May to early August at NSF NCAR, UCAR and partner institutions. The programme is built on three pillars: original research in Earth system science, intensive mentoring with up to five mentors assigned to each participant, and a continuing community of science professionals. That multi-year, multi-mentor structure is what distinguishes SOARS from a conventional single-summer REU. Applications open in November and close in January, with decisions notified by April.