Prospective Students
The Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) Program welcomes students of all majors and levels from first-year undergraduates through doctoral candidates. It provides a real-world context for course work, shapes career paths, and builds professional, teamwork, and leadership skills that cannot be taught in the classroom. Projects, teams, and participants are elevated by the broad knowledge, talents, and experiences assembled by engaging individuals from diverse disciplines and backgrounds.
The long-term nature of the projects provides students with the opportunity to grow as a team member, make substantial contributions, and rise through the ranks of team leadership. Students are expected to work with the same team for multiple consecutive semesters to grow academically and professionally with colleagues working towards a common goal.
Begin your VIP Application Today
Join a VIP Team
Sophomores, juniors, seniors, and master's students are welcome to apply. Doctoral students participate as mentors under their research advisor's direction and join at their advisor's request.
Explore the wide variety of VIP teams to select the project that best fits your interests and major.
Choose your academic level for further information:
Who can apply: Students in good academic standing with no unresolved academic judiciary matters are
welcome to apply. Students should be completing at least their first term at Stony
Brook and have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or better. How to apply: Undergraduate students apply by clicking the Apply Now button below. They must indicate a single team they would like to join. At any time
prior to being admitted or upon rejection, applicants may edit their application to
request another team. Changing the team selection will withdraw the application from
the original selection and move it to the newly selected team. Switching Teams: Switching teams is discouraged and typically a student will be required to take a
one semester break from the VIP program before a switch is made. After a student is
admitted to a team, a request must be made to the faculty mentor to release the student's
application so that it may be edited to request admission to another team. Continuing Participants: Students who receive a grade of B or better in their most recent VIP course will be
permitted to continue membership on their VIP team. They must apply and be admitted
to another team to continue in the program. Unless permission is granted by the faculty
mentor, new members will take VIP 295, students who have completed at least one semester
of VIP 295 may take VIP 395, and those who completed at least one semester VIP 395
may take VIP 495. Time conflicts: VIP teams are officially scheduled to meet during a 53-minute class period once a
week. Additional sub-team meeting will be scheduled informally. Students should
schedule their courses to avoid time conflicts with the regular team meeting. In
exceptional cases, veteran team members may request approval for a time conflict by
completing the Time Conflict Approval Form. New team members are not permitted to have a conflict with their team meeting. How to apply: Doctoral students participate as mentors under the direction of their research advisors
and will receive permission to register for VIP 695 at the request of their advisor.
Masters students may apply to a VIP team by clicking the Apply Now button below. They must indicate a single team they would like to join. At any time prior to being
admitted or upon rejection, applicants may edit their application to request another
team. Changing the team selection will withdraw the application from the original
selection and move it to the newly selected team. Master students accepted to a team will receive permission to register for VIP 595
and may add up to two credits of VIP 596. Switching Teams: Switching teams is discouraged and typically a student will be required to take a
one semester break from the VIP program before a switch is made. After a student is admitted to a team, a request must be made to the faculty mentor
to release the student's application so that it may be edited to request admission
to another team. Continuing Participants: Master’s students who receive a grade of B or better in their most recent VIP course
will be permitted to continue membership on their VIP team. Students receiving a grade below a B will be released from their team. They must apply
and be admitted to another team to continue in the program. Doctoral students will be automatically permissioned for VIP 695 at the previous
credit load unless the faculty advisor requests otherwise. Time conflicts: TBD
VIP Program Courses
Learn more about the courses that VIP students enroll in each semester to participate on their team.
| Course | Course Title | Course Description | Prerequisites | Credits |
| VIP 295 | Introductory Multidisciplinary Project | Students participate in a multi-term, multidisciplinary project, working with team members ranging from first-year students through seniors and graduate students. Projects are advised by one or more faculty on topics of research, design, innovation and entrepreneurship. While a project is framed within a faculty member's area of expertise, contributions are needed from a diverse array of disciplines.This course is intended for introductory team members; students are expected to maintain involvement with the same project team for multiple terms. Interested students must apply for admission to the Vertically Integrated Projects Program. May be repeated for a maximum of 3 credits. | VIP Program participant | 1 credit |
| VIP 395 | Intermediate Multidisciplinary Project | Students participate in a multi-term, multidisciplinary project, working with team members ranging from first-year students through seniors and graduate students. Projects are advised by one or more faculty on topics of research, design, innovation and entrepreneurship. While a project is framed within a faculty member's area of expertise, contributions are needed from a diverse array of disciplines. This course is intended for intermediate team members or students who have working knowledge of the project topic. Students are expected to maintain involvement with the same project team for multiple terms. This course may be repeated for a maximum of 3 credits. Partially fulfills: EXP+ (with VIP 495) | VIP 295 or by permission, VIP Program participant | 1 credit |
| VIP 495 | Advanced Multidisciplinary Project | Students participate in a multi-term, multidisciplinary project, working with team members ranging from first-year students through seniors and graduate students. Projects are advised by one or more faculty on topics of research, design, innovation and entrepreneurship. While a project is framed within a faculty member's area of expertise, contributions are needed from a diverse array of disciplines. This course is intended for advanced team members with two or more semesters of experience on the same project. Students are expected to maintain involvement with the same project team for multiple terms. This course may be repeated for a maximum of 5 credits. Partially fulfills: EXP+ (with VIP 395) | VIP 395, VIP Program participant | 1 credit |
| VIP 496 | Advanced Multidisciplinary Project Practicum | This course is a supplement to VIP 495 for team members wishing to commit more effort towards their multidisciplinary project. Students who enroll in 1-credit of VIP 495 may register for up to 2-credits of VIP 496 in a semester for a maximum of 3 VIP credits. This course may be repeated for a maximum of 10 credits. | Co-requisite: VIP 495 | 1 or 2 credits |
| VIP 595 | Graduate Multidisciplinary Project | Students participate in a multi-term, multidisciplinary project, working with team members ranging from first-year students through seniors and graduate students. Projects are advised by one or more faculty on topics of research, design, innovation and entrepreneurship. While a project is framed within a faculty member's area of expertise, contributions are needed from a diverse array of disciplines. This course is intended for master’s students who can take a leadership role in a project subtask. Students are expected to maintain involvement with the same project team for multiple terms. Students may add up to 2-credits towards their effort by co-registering for VIP 596. | VIP Program participant | 1 credit |
| VIP 596 | Multidisciplinary Project Leadership | This course is a supplement to VIP 595 for team members wishing to commit more effort towards their multidisciplinary project. Students who enroll in 1-credit of VIP 595 may register up to 2-credits of VIP 596 in a semester for a total of three credits. This course may be repeated for credit. | Co-requisite: VIP 595. | 1 or 2 credits |
| VIP 695 | Multidisciplinary Project Leadership | Students participate in a multi-term, multidisciplinary project, working with team members ranging from first-year students through seniors and graduate students. Projects are advised by one or more faculty on topics of research, design, innovation and entrepreneurship. While a project is framed within a faculty member's area of expertise, contributions are needed from a diverse array of disciplines. This course is intended for doctoral students whose dissertation research is directly related to a project led by his or her faculty advisor. Students registered for this course will take a leadership role and assist the faculty advisor in management of the team. May be repeated for credit. S/U Graded. | Permission of Faculty Project Mentor | 0-3 credits |
Learn how VIP program credits count towards your major.