Participant Obligations

The Visiting Faculty Program is intended to support the professional development of current faculty members who have the desire to increase the competitiveness of their own independent research or stimulate invigoration of their teaching at their home institution through scientific research collaborations with DOE laboratory scientists.

Please Note: Before the application submission deadline, all faculty applicants must submit a research project proposal that is co-developed with the research staff located at the host DOE laboratory.

The VFP proposal guidelines for the research and teaching tracks can be found at either VFP Research Proposal Guidance or VFP Teaching Initiative Track Proposal Guidance.

Participation Requirements for Faculty and Student Participants:

  • Must have proof of coverage under a health insurance plan for the duration of their appointment. It is the responsibility of each participant to secure insurance coverage before arriving at the appointment site.
  • Participants must conduct their internship within the United States and its Territories.
  • Must complete the full 10-week program for the Summer Term (Faculty and Student Participants).
  • For the Spring and Fall Terms, faculty must complete the full 16 weeks.
  • Participate in professional scientific meetings at the request of the DOE research advisor.

Deliverable Obligations

  • Both faculty and student participants must complete all required program deliverables on time.

Deliverable Submissions

Faculty Participants:

Student Participants:

  • Student participants must make either an oral or poster presentation on the outcome of their VFP related research activities, complete and submit a 1500 - 3000 word research project report, a general audience abstract, and a one-page peer review of another undergraduate intern's talk or poster.
  • Report requirements, submission instructions, and additional guidance can be found at Visiting Faculty Program (VFP) Student Deliverables Requirements and Guidelines.

Please Note:

  • Participants who do not complete the initial survey (“pre-survey”) by the deadline will be terminated from the program immediately.  Their record of participation will be expunged, and they will not be allowed to apply to WDTS programs in the future.
  • Participants who do not complete the remaining required deliverables (described below) on time will have the record of their participation expunged, and they will not be allowed to apply to WDTS programs in the future.
  • Must complete the entrance and exit surveys through the online system provided at the beginning of the program. Host laboratories may choose to withhold initial or final stipend payments until the surveys have been submitted.

Project Acknowledgment for projects funded by WDTS:

To help maintain accountability and accuracy of its federally-mandated assessment and reporting functions, WDTS requires funded work to appropriately acknowledge its support in the presentations and publications resulting from its funding.

When acknowledging WDTS support, please use the following statement:

“This work was supported in part by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists (WDTS) under the Visiting Faculty Program (VFP).”

Please note: VFP awards are not intended to provide dual compensation for the activities sponsored by other sources including but not limited to Federal appropriations or contracts and grants funded by Federal agencies. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that Federal funds are not used to pay for the same cost or activity already paid for from another source of funding.