CIS 2026 SARO Fellowship

2026 South Asia Research Opportunity Fellowship

Welcome to the South Asia Research Opportunity Fellowship application! 

We are pleased to announce the 2026 summer program for research at the Bangalore Life Science Cluster (BLiSC) in India. The program will run Wednesday, May 27 to Friday, July 31, 2026, and is open to students in their sophomore or junior year at the time of the application.

Research areas at BLiSC include biochemistry, biophysics, bioinformatics, neurobiology, cellular organization and signaling, genetics and development, theory and modeling of biological systems, ecology and evolution, stem cells, regenerative biology, technology development and biotech entrepreneurship, and genetics and genomics to aid human health an agriculture. SARO research fellows will receive $5000 and up to $2000 of travel costs will be covered by the program.

Completed applications for summer 2026 are due by 11:59 pm on September 22, 2025! 

Application:

All applicants will complete the common application. You will be asked to provide:

• A short essay describing your research interests, any previous experience, and how a summer research experience in India relates to your academic and professional goals (500 words)
• The names of potential mentors at BLiSC or list areas of research interests
• A copy of your Academic History (unofficial transcript)
• The names and email addresses for two references, at least one of which is a Wesleyan faculty member
• Your citizenship and passport details

How to access the South Asia Research Opportunity Fellowship application

The application is hosted on Submittable, a social impact platform being used by Wesleyan's Gordon Career Center. Please follow the directions below to begin. 

• Create a free Submittable account or sign in (see below)
• You can save a draft of your work if you would like to finish filling out the application at a later date.
• Please note: References will be notified of your request through your application in Submittable, and all must submit their statements by September 22. Your requests can and should be sent through Submittable as soon as you know who you will ask, to give your references time to complete and submit the form by the deadline. As noted above: In Submittable you can send your reference requests and save a draft of your work at any time, if you would like to finish filling out the application at a later date.
• If anything changes with the information you submitted, please request to edit the submission. Edits can only be made prior to the deadline.
• We will follow-up with you about your submission by email. Please be sure to safelist notification emails from Submittable and check the email you used to sign up for your Submittable account regularly. Check out the Submitter Resource Center or reach out to Submittable's customer support team with any technical questions here.

Ready to Apply?

All applications will be reviewed after September 22, 2025. You may save your progress by clicking "Save Draft" at the end of the application. Once you are ready to submit your application, please click "Submit Form." Decisions will be announced in October. Failure to meet application or program requirements will result in your application being withdrawn. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

For further information, please contact Anika Dane at adane@wesleyan.edu.