Indigenous Summer Research Scholars Program
A grant from the USDA's New Beginning for Tribal Students (NBTS) program (matched by Cornell CALS) has made it possible to fully fund four Indigenous students each year for the next four years to take part in our Summer Research Scholars Program.
Since 2009, this nine-week internship has paired undergraduate students with faculty programs at Cornell AgriTech, where the student scholars gain valuable research experience to help jump-start their careers. Learn more about the program.
Similarly, as a participant in the Indigenous Summer Research Scholars Program, you will:
- Conduct an independent research project focused on the agricultural plant or food sciences.
- Develop professional and soft skills necessary for research.
- Be mentored by Cornell faculty who are experts in entomology, horticulture, food science or plant pathology.
- Connect with near-peer graduate student mentors who will work with you one-on-one.
- Receive additional culturally relevant mentoring from Indigenous Cornell faculty, the Cornell American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program (AIISP) and Indigenous farmers and agricultural professionals in New York.
- Participate in additional professional enrichment programming and field trips.
Scholars receive a $6,200 stipend and are provided housing. The stipend is paid in a lump sum as direct deposit shortly after arrival, typically by the end of the first full week of the program. These funds will help pay for meals not provided by the program, travel to and from Geneva, NY, and any personal expenses you incur during the program. Housing, local transportation and a number of meals will be provided.
More information
Featured Indigenous Summer Scholar
Sebastian April: Healthy Hemp
In 2024, Sebastian April (Mi'kmaq) joined the Christine Smart Lab as the first Indigenous Summer Scholar at Cornell AgriTech. Funding by the USDA's New Beginning for Tribal Students (NBTS) program (matched by Cornell CALS) makes it possible for Indigenous students to conduct research alongside Cornell AgriTech scientists.
Seb majors in Sustainable Plant and Soil Systems (with a minor in Cannabis Cultivation) at the University of Connecticut. Smart paired him with plant pathology PhD student Jocelyn Schwartz (with Seb in hemp plot) as a mentor for his project investigating management and resistance of hemp to the fungal disease Septoria leaf spot.
Featured Indigenous Summer Scholar
In the field
In a field trial, Seb tested the efficacy of nine different fungicides in controlling Septoria leaf spot. He assisted Jocelyn in measuring the fungicides, inoculating the plants in the field, and rating the plants for disease severity each week.
Seb also screened 105 accessions from the USDA’s Hemp Germplasm Collection for resistance to the disease. He inoculated the plants and rated them weekly for disease severity.
Seb forged strong connections with the USDA hemp team and met with them to discuss future career opportunities in government. The USDA also houses vegetable, grape and apple collections at their Geneva facilities.
Featured Indigenous Summer Scholar
In the lab
Like most Summer Scholar projects, Seb’s investigations also involved lab work, including isolating the fungal pathogen from diseased hemp leaves, maintaining the lab’s collection of fungal isolates, and working to grow the fungal pathogen using sterile techniques. He inoculated tomatoes, sunflowers, and five varieties of hops to help inform disease management strategies, and clonally propagated hemp using an aeroponic system.
Featured Indigenous Summer Scholar
Field trips
Indigenous Scholars participate along with students in the on-going AgriTech Summer Research Scholars Program on four to five agriculturally themed field trips. In 2024, scholars visited the St. Regis Mohawk reservation farm. The trip included a farm tour led by the farm’s Agriculture Program team, lunch on the farm with tribe members, and field work at the Onkwe Community Garden.
“We also took trips to vineyards, distilleries and other farm operations,” says Seb. He also traveled to Cornell’s Ithaca campus to meet with Indigenous faculty and learn about Cornell’s American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program (AIISP) and graduate school opportunities and networked with Indigenous undergraduates and graduate students on the Ithaca campus.
Featured Indigenous Summer Scholar
Contributing to science
The program for all of the Summer Scholars culminates in a poster session where they share their findings with each other as well as Cornell faculty, staff and graduate students.
"The poster session experience was a new one for me," recalls Seb. "When I looked at my poster and saw all that I'd accomplished in just a few short weeks, it felt good to know that I could make a real contribution to the science of cultivating cannabis."
Timeline
Application Deadlines
- Review of applications and unofficial transcripts will begin January 20, 2025, and continue until the program is full.
- Review of letters of recommendations will begin January 27, 2025.
Notification Date
- Applicants notified about a decision as soon as possible after the application is received, generally 2-4 weeks.
Program Start Date
- Students arrive May 28, 2025
- Required orientation May 29 - 30, 2025
- Program starts June 2, 2025
Eligibility
- Must be a member of an Indian tribe as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C 5304).
- For the 2025 program, must be 18 years of age by June 2025.
- For the 2025 program, must be enrolled in and have at least one semester remaining in an undergraduate program in the life sciences or other relevant field as of July 2025.
Message from the director
Since launching the program in 2009, we’ve strived to recruit a diverse group of undergraduates to our Summer Research Scholars Program. That’s why we are excited to have received a grant from the USDA's New Beginning for Indigenous Students (NBTS) program (matched by Cornell CALS) to make it possible for us to fully fund four Indigenous students each year for the next four years to take part in the program.
Cornell’s American Indian & Indigenous Studies Program (AIISP) is a partner in the Indigenous Summer Research Scholars Program and will help us make the program successful. Scholars will learn about AIISP and have the chance to discuss the opportunities and support AIISP provides for Indigenous students at Cornell.
We are excited about the possibilities that these collaborations will bring to our program and community. If you have questions, please contact us: agritech_scholar [at] cornell.edu (agritech_scholar[at]cornell[dot]edu)
Chris Smart, Goichman Family Director, Cornell AgriTech, for the Indigenous Summer Research Scholars Program team:
- Kyle Wickings, Department of Entomology, Summer Research Scholar Program Coordinator
- Anna Katharine Mansfield, Department of Food Science, Cornell AgriTech DEI Coordinator
- Larry Smart, Horticulture Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, former leader of the Summer Research Scholars Program
- Leslie Logan, (Onöndowa’ga:’/Seneca), Associate Director of Cornell’s American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program (AIISP)
Questions?
Email: agritech_scholar [at] cornell.edu (agritech_scholar[at]cornell[dot]edu)