Research internships present opportunities for undergraduates to gain an exposure to research and consider whether they are interested in research careers and graduate school. There are several programs that allow computing undergraduates with disabilities to become involved in research.
The REU for Increasing Diversity (www.pratt.duke.edu/reu/absher) at Duke University offers research internships in engineering fields, including computer engineering, with an emphasis on including groups that are underrepresented, including students with disabilities.
Distributed Research Experiences for Undergraduates (parasol.tamu.edu/dreu/) matches women and students from underrepresented groups, including students with disabilities, with a computer science or engineering faculty mentor for summer research experiences at the mentor’s home institution.
The Summer Program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (medicine.umich.edu/dept/khri/training-seminars/summer-program-deaf-hard-hearing) at the Kresge Hearing Research Institute at the University of Michigan is a summer experience in biomedical sciences and computing.
The Quality of Life Center at the University of Pittsburgh offers an REU Program (www.herl.pitt.edu/education/undergrad/reu) focusing on rehabilitation engineering and assistive technology fields. They encourage students with disabilities to apply.
The Neuro-Engineering Summer Research Program (biomedical.njit.edu/neuroengreu/) at the New Jersey Institute of Technology encourages applications from undergraduates in all engineering fields. A major thrust of this REU site is the inclusion of students with disabilities.
There are many National Science Foundation sponsored sites for research experiences for undergraduates. Search for a site at www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/reu_search.jsp.
Subject to funding availability, AccessComputing funds research internships for students with disabilities. To learn more, contact AccessComputing at 206-685-3648 (V/TTY) or accesscomp@uw.edu.