If you would like to do research in the summer, you can work with a Macalester faculty or try a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program.

To initiate work with a Macalester faculty member, start by looking at the MSCS Research Opportunities page, and then talking with a professor with whom you would like to work. Also visit the Macalester Science and Research Office.

REUs are typically 8–10 week programs, run all over the country, and you get housing and salary. REUs vary widely in structure (for example, whether students work individually or in groups, on similar projects or different projects, with lots of faculty supervision/interaction or very little). Note that most cannot fund students who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents. If you’re thinking of graduate school, trying an REU is a really good idea. Application deadlines are mostly from January to March.

• The NSF funds many REUs in the mathematical sciences. See the official NSF REU list. If you use this URL to search for a REU site, you will find that this list includes computer science and statistics and all sorts of applied math.
• The American Mathematical Society (AMS) and the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) each maintain their own list of these, plus a few more that are not NSF sponsored: see AMS list of REUs and MAA list of REUs; some are NSF-sponsored and others aren't.

The department also receives notices from colleges and university about the REU's they offer. Click here for that information. It will be updated weekly.

Other sites to look at for summer opportunities are listed below [some of these are open to students who have just graduated, some of these are open to non-US citizens, and some are only for women:

• The Park City Mathematics Institute (PCMI) has an Undergraduate Summer School which interacts with the Graduate Summer School and Research in Mathematics programs.
• NIST SURF is the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship with projects in applied mathematics.
• IPAM is the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics. It hosts the Research in Industrial Projects (RIPS) for undergraduates and recent graduates.
• The National Security Agency has a variety of summer programs.
• George Washington University hosts the Summer Program for Women in Mathematics.
• Carleton College hosts the Summer Mathematics Program for Women Undergraduates.
• About to go to graduate school? Consider the EDGE program for women during the summer before you start.
• The DIMACS family of REUs is open to non US-citizens.
• The National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis runs a program linking math and biology and is open to non US-citizens (2012 link)

There are also summer internships in industry (business, actuarial, technology, etc.) you might look for an internship. The AMS keeps a list of internships and the American Statistical Association has a list of internships, posted on their Education page.

If you are interested in teaching or working with kids there are many enrichment programs during the summer for middle and high school students. Located across the country, these programs often hire college students. The AMS lists summer programs in mathematics for middle- and/or high-school students.