Veterinary Summer Scholars Program

VSSP is an 11-week, immersive research training program designed for first and second-year D.V.M. students. It goes beyond working in a lab; it is a comprehensive “research internship” that includes mentorship, professional development workshops, field trips, and the opportunity to present your work at a national symposium.

While this is a paid position, the primary value of VSSP is professional training. The program offers:

• Career clarification: Experience research firsthand to decide if a career in academia, industry, or clinical research is right for you.
• Skill development: Learn scientific writing, poster design, and lab techniques that aren’t taught in the standard D.V.M. curriculum.
• Networking: Build relationships with faculty mentors, Ph.D. students, and peers from across the country at the National Veterinary Scholars Symposium (NVSS).
• Community: Join a cohort of like-minded students for social events, field trips, and peer support.

The stipend for the 2026 program is $6,500 for the summer. This amount is a training stipend intended to offset living expenses; it is not an hourly wage.

Taxes, Medicare, CO-FAMLI, and mandatory retirement contributions (in lieu of Social Security) are automatically deducted from your paycheck (ranging from 18-20% of wages, assuming zero withholdings on W-4 and low annual income). Please plan your summer budget accordingly, as your take-home pay will be lower than the gross stipend amount.

The program is open to first and second-year D.V.M. students. Students from other AVMA-accredited veterinary schools are welcome to apply. International students are not eligible to apply.

• Use the mentor match tool: We facilitate matches through use of a shared spreadsheet where students can indicate interest and faculty share available projects. Contact Wendy Stevenson at [email protected] for access to this resource.
• Reach out early: Faculty are busy. Contact potential mentors one to two months before the deadline. Send a professional email expressing interest in their specific research and asking for a meeting.
• Confirm the match: Once a faculty member agrees to host you, they must complete the mentor commitment form confirming the project and their financial commitment.

No. In fact, the program often prioritizes students with little to no prior research experience to provide them with new training opportunities.

The program runs from May 26-Aug. 7. This is a full-time commitment (40 hours/week). Due to the rigorous schedule of lab work and program seminars, students are not permitted to hold other employment during the program.

The program is short and intensive (10–11 weeks). Extended vacations are generally not possible. If you have a brief, unavoidable conflict (e.g., a family wedding), you must clear this with your mentor and program administration before accepting the position.

The program orientation, selected research seminars and workshops, the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences poster symposium and science slam.

If funding is available through either program sponsors or mentors, trainees are highly encouraged to attend the national symposium. This includes travel funds for flights, accommodations, transportation and registration. Any food costs outside of what is provided by the symposium are the responsibility of the student.

Mentors with faculty appointments in CVMBS are eligible to participate as mentors as long as they have funds available to cover the research project costs.

We encourage faculty to list their projects in the mentor match tool released in the fall. Students typically browse this list and reach out to faculty directly in December or January. You may also recruit a student independently, but they must still complete the formal application process.

For the 2025 cycle, we are streamlining this process. Instead of emailing a letter, you will need to complete the mentor commitment form. This form will capture project details and include acknowledgements of mentor commitments.

While the program (or specific grants like BI) covers the student’s stipend, mentors are responsible for funding the following: research project costs, poster printing (about $40), and if available, student travel costs for the national veterinary symposium ($1,200-$1,500 in FY27 discretionary funding).

No. There may be other program funds available to cover travel. Given the current financial landscape, this is not a program requirement this year and mentors will not be penalized for inability to provide travel funds.

• Hosting the student for the full 11-week program
• Providing supervision or delegating a direct supervisor (e.g., Ph.D. student/resident/postdoc)
• Holding regular one-on-one meetings to discuss progress and roadblocks
• Releasing the student from lab work to attend mandatory VSSP seminars, field trips, and workshops. A copy of the schedule will be provided to mentors before the program begins.

Generally, only one student per mentor can be funded through the central VSSP mechanisms to ensure quality mentorship and funding distribution.

The CVMBS dean’s office HR team manages the hiring and background checks. Hiring typically begins late April to early May.

The summer program is brief (approximately 10–11 weeks). You must certify that the proposed project allows the student to collect sufficient data within that timeframe to generate a scientific poster.

Tip: Projects that allow a student to plug into ongoing research or analyze existing data often yield better results than asking a student to start a new study from scratch. The goal is hypothesis-based research that provides a training vehicle, not necessarily a completed manuscript by August.

While the immediate requirement is a research poster presented at the VSSP poster session, many students use this program as a stepping stone toward residency or Ph.D. applications where publications are highly valued. Also note that we track anticipated publications as part of the program outcome.

Students are required to create a descriptive abstract (no results) by mid-July and a research poster by the end of July.

Yes, and it is encouraged. Feedback from past mentors indicates that attending specific workshops (such as “How to Design a Scientific Poster” or “AI in Research”) helps you align your guidance with what students are learning in the curriculum. We will share the schedule with mentors in advance.

We strongly encourage it. Building a community is a core goal of VSSP, and we invite faculty mentors to participate in social engagements (such as the orientation social or mid-summer gatherings) to network with the cohort.

There are two major local events in early August where your support is critical:

• The poster symposium: A local session where students present their work to the CSU community before traveling to the national conference.
• The science slam: A fun, rapid-fire presentation event at a local venue (e.g., Wolverine Farm Publick House). Past mentors have highlighted this as a favorite event of the summer.
• If funds are available: The National Veterinary Scholars Symposium

Your attendance at these events shows support for your trainee’s hard work and is highly valued by the students.