Internal Award
Term Length: Six-month Co-op
Needs Institutional Endorsement
US Citizenship Not Required
Minimum GPA: 3.0

• GPA 3.0 and above
• Full-time undergraduate majoring in a STEM field.
• Co-op experience must be mentored by a tenured or tenure-track faculty member working in the STEM fields.
• In supporting this scholarship, the donor’s hope is to attract academically talented applicants who are underrepresented in STEM fields.  This scholarship is open to students from all backgrounds and interested students from all backgrounds should apply to this opportunity.
• Prior research experience is not required.

AJC Merit Research Scholars are selected on the basis of:

• Academic merit and talent.
• Understanding of the work of the proposed co-op.
• Previous experience with leadership, teamwork, and community-building.
• Interest in pursuing graduate study on the master’s or doctoral level in a STEM-related field.
• Interest in and preparation for a career in STEM-related research.

AJC Merit Research Scholars participate in a full-time, research co-op in the lab of a Northeastern University faculty member – at a wage comparable to what they might earn in industry.  This round of AJC Merit Research Scholar opportunities will run from January 2026 through June 2026.

In addition to financial support for their position, AJC Merit Research Scholars will join a cohort of like-minded peers, who will receive additional mentorship and guidance from the Undergraduate Research and Fellowships office.

AJC Merit Research Scholars will be given the mentoring and hands-on research experience they need to allow them to understand and thrive in a research-based career.

Applications must begin in NUWorks

Students Applying into Self-Created AJC Merit Research Scholarship Research Co-ops

For the Spring 2026 co-op cycle, these must be new positions — we are not funding existing co-ops.

The application includes:

• Narrative Research Co-op Proposal (2-3 pages, see details below.)
• Annotated bibliography of at least five field-specific and project relevant resources. (1-2 pages.)
• Unofficial transcript.
• Statement of support from PI/research mentor.
• One brief recommendation form filled out by another research mentor/professor.

The Narrative Research Co-op Proposal should be both concise and intelligible to readers outside your discipline—please write for an audience of educated non-specialists. We have designed it to take two to three typed, single-spaced pages to answer. There’s no need to include a cover page. The Narrative Research Co-op Proposal should contain the following elements, labeled and in order:

• Introducing the Research Co-op Problem, Challenge, or Question
  • Give a brief but specific statement of the problems, questions, or challenges that will be addressed during the course of the co-op. Ideally the research co-op will be scoped to focus on at least one primary project. Discuss this.
  • Provide relevant background information for the work that will happen within the research co-op, with any necessary citations, to contextualize it within your disciplinary field(s).
  • Clearly and concisely convey why the project is important, both within your field and more broadly.
• Proposed Solution
  • Describe what the applicant proposes to do to address or understand or illuminate the challenge during their co-op.
  • List the objectives for the proposed research co-op and how they are appropriately scaled for the duration of a six-month long co-op.
• Particulars of Plan of Action
  • Provide a specific description of the research methods being applied during the co-op—how are you going to attain the listed objectives, step-by-step?
  • Consider potential challenges that might arise in undertaking the co-op and how you might respond.
  • Share a preliminary timeline for the co-op and what will happen during the particular stages of the co-op.
  • Clarify the specific role and responsibilities of the AJC Merit Research Scholar within the larger laboratory, as well as the plan for connecting with the faculty mentor.
  • Human Subjects: If the project involves human subjects or personal data, there should be clear evidence of the Institutional Review Board’s approval, waiver or anticipated approval. (IRB approval must occur before project begins.)
  • Vertebrate Animals: If the project involves working with non-human vertebrates, there should be clear evidence of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee’s approval, waiver or anticipated approval. (IACUC approval must occur before project begins.)
• Personal and Professional Preparation
  • Describe any relevant knowledge and experience you would bring to bear in undertaking the research co-op. This does not have to mean research experience. Think broadly about your skills and capacities, courses you have taken, etc. What did you do, what did you learn, and how is this relevant to the co-op research you plan to undertake
• Products
  • Explain the milestones, benchmarks, and criteria that you will use to assess and, if necessary, adjust your project as it progresses.
  • List the expected outcomes from the proposed research or creative endeavor.
  • Describe how you will evaluate the project’s outcomes.
  • How do you plan to share your work? In addition to sharing their work at RISE (which is an expectation of this award and opportunity), recipients should aim to produce work that can be shared via external venues (a discipline-specific conference, a scholarly or specialized publication, etc.) and should discuss those possibilities here.
• Path Forward
  • Describe the skills and capacities you hope to develop through the co-op. How does this project build a path forward towards for applicants, personally and professionally? We are particularly interested in helping students prepare for advanced study and research in graduate school.
• Core Values Statement
  • A core value of the AJC Merit Research Scholarship at Northeastern is that intellectual community is enriched and enhanced by diversity along a number of dimensions. In particular, the AJC Merit Research Scholarship is interested in supporting students who are members of groups historically underrepresented in the STEM fields and U.S. higher education, in particular members of tribal nations. As a potential AJC Merit Research Scholar, please describe any activities you have participated in that have advanced belonging and inclusion. How will you contribute to the creation of a talented, diverse, and collaborative community?