Spring 2026 Undergraduate Data Science & AI Scholars
Applications due Friday, November 21, 2025
We are pleased to announce the Undergraduate Data Science and AI Scholars program for supporting students in Spring 2026. The Data Science and AI Scholars program welcomes undergraduate scholars from multiple disciplines, including non-STEM majors, who will examine all aspects of data and its impact on society. This year, scholars will have the opportunity to be teaching fellowsor research fellows. Scholars will be able to work on research projects in Climate Science, Deepfake detection, and other data science-related projects.
Students selected through this effort will be part of the Data Science and AI Scholars program, which will be run in partnership withthe Center for Women in Technology (CWIT), the Information Systems Department (IS), and the Center for Social Science Scholarship (CS3).
Selected scholars will be assigned to respective affiliations (CWIT/IS or CS3) depending on the student's major, and the scholars' expectations per affiliation are as follows:
Center for Women in Technology (CWIT) Responsibilities:
Research Fellows
Scholars who will work as research fellows will work on a supervised research project and be mentored by faculty. Scholars will be paid $20.00/hour for specific tasks, for 5 - 10 hours per week.
Scholars will attend at least two events in Spring 2026 and/or participate in research initiatives and professional development for their leadership growth and mentoring. Mentors will coordinate this at CWIT.
Scholars will need to register as CWIT Affiliates to participate in the 2 required events.
Scholars will be required to enroll in a Zero-credit Practicum course on research experience (PRAC 98C) through the UMBC Career Center.
Teaching Fellows
Scholars will work as teaching fellows and peer mentors for undergraduate students in IS 296 - Foundations of Data Science, and support students throughout the course.. The scholars will devote time to mentoring and leadership development efforts for their advancement. The cohort of scholars will meet as a group under the supervision of the IS 296 instructor. Scholars will be paid $20.00/hour for specific tasks, for 5 - 10 hours per week during Spring 2026.
Scholars who will work as teaching fellows will be expected to be available to assist with classes and also present during lectures. Spring 2026 class schedule is as follows: Mondays 4:30 - 7:00 pm (Instructor: Dr. Karen Chen), Mondays 7:10 - 9:40 pm (Instructor: Zehra Zaidi), and Tuesdays 4:30 - 7:00 pm (Instructor: Dr. Neha Singh)
Scholars will be required to attend one mentoring meeting per month with the coordinator
Scholars will be required to enroll in a Zero-credit Practicum course on research experience (PRAC 98C) through the UMBC Career Center.
Center for Social Science Scholarship (CS3) Responsibilities:
Research Fellows
Scholars who will work as research fellows will work on a supervised research project and be mentored by faculty. Scholars will be paid $20.00/hour for specific tasks, for 5 - 10 hours per week.
Scholars will attend at least two events in Spring 2026 and/or participate in research initiatives and professional development for their leadership growth and mentoring. Mentors will coordinate this at CS3.
Scholars will also be expected to attend one mentoring meeting with the faculty.
Scholars will be required to enroll in a Zero-credit Practicum course on research experience (PRAC 98C) through the UMBC Career Center.
Background and Skills:
ALL applicants should have knowledge in AT LEAST ONE of the following:
Analysis of social, behavioral, economic, or geographic data
Python or one of the data science tools and/or languages (such as R, Rapid Miner, Weka, Orange, Knime, ML on cloud computing)
Jupyter Notebooks with Python or taken IS 296 in a prior semester.
Application Form:
Interested students should complete the Google Submission Form,OR access the form using the following link: https://forms.gle/FFUAa5RpDNMGYvTY9 by Friday, November 21, 2025.
Questions:
For questions, please email our team at DataScienceAIScholars@umbc.edu
To learn more about potential projects, please check out the following websites:
Posted: November 10, 2025, 3:35 PM