Wisconsin Science and Computing
Emerging Research Stars (WISCERS)
A research-focused mentorship program for undergraduate students
About the WISCERS Program
WISCERS program is an undergraduate mentorship program started in 2021, focused on fostering research participation among undergraduate students at UW-Madison. This program exposes students to research areas in Computer Science, Statistics, and Data Science, facilitates peer mentorship from graduate students working in different areas, and matches students with faculty for gaining research mentorship experience. Our broad goal is to encourage undergraduate students to apply for research-based graduate programs, particularly those students from historically underrepresented groups in computing.
This program was initiated based on and partially funded by an exploreCSR award from Google, in 2021-2023.
CS Research Workshops
The program features a kick-off workshop that includes a research showcase by UW faculty and presentations on pursuing graduate studies. It is typically held during the first week of classes in January.
Research Mentoring
The program will match students with faculty to receive research mentoring, based on their expressed research interest(s).
The applications are now closed.
Check back again in November 2025.
People
Program Leaders:
Assistant professor, CS department
Assistant professor, CS department
Partnering Student Groups:
WACM
A UW-Madison student chapter of ACM-W.
SACM
A UW-Madison student chapter of ACM.
FAQ
What are the eligibility requirements for this program?
The target group for this program are undergraduate students in junior standing. We may consider students at other seniority levels on an exceptional basis. This program is primarily intended to increase research participation among students from historically underrepresented groups in computing (in terms of, e.g., gender, race, socio-economic status, and disability status), so we particularly encourage applications from these student groups.
Is this program only about computer science? Would you consider students from other majors?
Our focus is on computer science and related areas, such as computer engineering, statistics, information science, and data science. We will consider students from all majors relevant to these areas. We will also consider students from other majors if they show promise and interest in computer science and any of these related areas.
Is there an application fee?
No, this program is completely free.
When will this program happen?
All of the program activities are planned for Spring 2025. There is a possibility of summer research internships, but this is subject to availability of funds.
When will I hear back about my application?
We will make decisions and send notifications mid January.
What is the overall timeline for this program?
The proposed timeline for the 2024-2025 program is as follows
Dec 30, 2024 Applications are due
By Jan 18, 2025 Notifications sent to students who have been accepted to the program
Jan 24, 2025: Kick-off workshop
Jan 27 1-May 10, 2025: Spring semester activities including peer mentoring and faculty mentoring, possibly some social events, etc.
May 15-Aug 15 2025: Summer internships
Mid-Aug 2025: End of program
Will participating in this program increase my chances of getting admitted to graduate school?
While we cannot guarantee admission to any graduate programs, we note that research experience and participation in programs such as this one are generally viewed favorably by graduate admissions committees.
Am I guaranteed a paid summer research internship if I get into this program?
All summer research internships positions are paid at the standard student hourly rate, and are subject to the availability of funding by individual faculty or from university/industry sponsors. Our goal is to provide research internship opportunities to all WISCERS fellows, but we cannot guarantee funding for each student.
Am I guaranteed to be matched with mentors from research area X?
Graduate student and faculty mentors are participating in this program as volunteers. We try to recruit these mentors from all areas listed in our program description and make every effort to pair you with mentors from the research area in which you express interest. However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to pair you with a specific mentor or a specific research area, as this depends on the availability of mentors.
Is participation in all the program activities mandatory?
To fully benefit from a program like this one, we expect you to participate in all of the associated activities. However, we understand that you may occasionally need to miss some of the activities due to other academic or personal commitments.
How many students will be accepted into this program?
We plan to have a cohort of around 20 students.
If I am not a student from UW-Madison can I still apply?
The program will have in-person events at UW-Madison. Thus we encourage applications from students from the Madison/Milwaukee areas but might be able to accommodate students from other parts of Wisconsin as well.
Have More Questions?
Contact wiscers@cs.wisc.edu for more information about the WISCERS program and the application process.