An Illinois Tech student works on a microscope

Illinois Tech’s SURE I Program for International Undergraduates

Experience Chicago. Learn from Experts. Prepare for a Global Future. 

An Immersive Undergraduate Research Experience

The SURE I Program is offered for six or eight weeks in the winter or summer. It is open to undergraduate students in their third, fourth, or fifth years of study in engineering/technology disciplines at universities outside the United States.  

Six-Week Program Options:  

  • Monday, January 5–Friday, February 13, 2026  
  • Monday, June 1–Friday, July 10, 2026  

Eight-Week Program:  

  • Monday, June 1–Friday, July 24, 2026  

Apply Here

Why Illinois Tech?

#1

Chicago is ranked the “Best Big City” in the U.S. for 9 years in a row

Conde Nast Traveler

1 of 5

STEM-based institutions in the U.S. to be named an “Opportunity College and University”

American Council on Education and Carnegie Foundation 2025

#1

In Illinois and #22 in the U.S. for the best salaries of graduates

Wall Street Journal/College Pulse 2026

How It Works

Students are assigned research projects that are matched with their competencies and interests and are required to participate in a poster session at the end of the program. This is a great opportunity for students to receive helpful direction from faculty members who provide their evaluation of each student’s project. Upon successful completion, each student is awarded a Certificate of Completion.

Program Benefits

  • Could fulfill undergraduate students’ research requirements toward their bachelor’s degree at their home institution
  • Provides an opportunity to co-publish the research with the supervising professor
  • Offers students the opportunity to expand on the research with the professor, if they are interested in pursuing a master’s degree at Illinois Tech in the future
  • Opportunity to work in a team with students from other global universities

Requirements

  • Transcripts: Minimum grade-point average required is 3.0 on of a 4.0 scale  
  • English proficiency requirement: TOEFL iBT score of 80 overall and 20 in each of the four sections, IELTS (not home edition) 6.5 overall and 6.0 in each of the four bands, certified letter from a professor of English at the home institution indicating that the student has an intermediate level in English
  • Proof of funds available to meet the cost
  • Short essay illustrating research interest 

Questions? 

Please contact internationalpartnerships@illinoistech.edu for more information

Apply Here

Why SURE I?