<p>I'm a freshman wanting to do research this coming summer (2012). I'm taking a research safety/ethics class to prep myself for this. </p>
<p>I will be back home in Los Angeles and I was wondering if UCLA or USC offer research open to students that don't attend those schools. I understand that those schools might have programs that are only for their students, but would individual faculty be open to taking on unaffiliated students? How would I find these people? Or do they have programs open to unaffiliated students?</p>
<p>I do know that Caltech does have a program that allows non Caltech students to apply, so I recognize that as one possibility. Has anybody here done Caltech's SURF as an non-Caltech student?</p>
<p>Unlikely a UCLA or USC prof would offer a summer research position to an unaffiliated summer-only visitor. The expectation a university has is that summer positions go to its own students first. That said, if you have professor/researcher at your home school who would be willing to make the initial contact for you with a specific prof, you may have better luck, esp. if you have a in-demand lab skill or previous experience working in that research area.</p>
<p>SURF is open to all applicants. D2 met several SURF students last summer (at conferences) during her summer research program. Most were not CalTech students. SURF is more like a REU. (The biggest difference is the grant-like research proposal SURF students need to write as part of their application.)</p>
<p>You should know that SURF is incredibly competitive with a <5% acceptance rate.</p>