Undergraduate students from a number of southern California colleges and universities participate in summer research fellowships and year-round internships. Oak Crest participates in Caltech's Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) and Minority Undergraduate Research Fellowship (MURF) programs. SURF students are required to write project proposals, which are reviewed by a faculty committee, conduct the research during ten weeks in the summer, submit a technical report, and give an oral or poster presentation on SURF Seminar Day; a symposium patterned after a professional technical meeting. The entire cycle is modeled on the academic grant-seeking process and, as with any grant award, students receive a stipend.

Students from Pasadena City College, as well as other local and worldwide colleges and universities, also are conducting research at Oak Crest, usually over a period between 6 months and three years, under an analogous model to the above programs. Prior to becoming part of the Oak Crest group, a number of our students were working part-time in restaurants and grocery stores to support themselves. We were able to provide them with competitive salaries - usually higher than what they were earning previously - to allow them to conduct research in an academic setting instead.

Oak Crest also offers a unique National Science Foundation-sponsored Research Experience for Undergraduates (NSF REU) program dedicated solely to local community college students from the following community colleges: Citrus College, Glendale Community College, Mount San Antonio College, Pasadena City College, and Rio Hondo Community College. Oak Crest's NSF REU program begins both in the fall and in the spring and runs for 20 weeks for the half-time (20 hours per week) option. Detailed information about the Oak Crest NSF REU program can be found by clicking on the "NSF REU" button on the left.