Google Summer of Code

Deadline: 6 April 2012
Open to: Students currently enrolled at universities, colleges or other accredited institutions
Remuneration: 5000 USD after the final evaluation deadline

Description

Google Summer of Code is a global program that offers student developers stipends to write code for various open source software projects. They have worked with several open source, free software, and technology-related groups to identify and fund several projects over a three month period. Since its inception in 2005, the program has brought together nearly 5,500 successful student participants and over 3000 mentors from over 100 countries worldwide, all for the love of code. Through Google Summer of Code, accepted student applicants are paired with a mentor or mentors from the participating projects, thus gaining exposure to real-world software development scenarios and the opportunity for employment in areas related to their academic pursuits. In turn, the participating projects are able to more easily identify and bring in new developers. Best of all, more source code is created and released for the use and benefit of all.

Eligibility

In order to participate in the program, you must be a student. Google defines a student as an individual enrolled in or accepted into an accredited institution including (but not necessarily limited to) colleges, universities, masters programs, PhD programs and undergraduate programs. You are eligible to apply if you are enrolled in an accredited pre-university educational program provided you meet all of the other eligibility requirements. You should be prepared, upon request, to provide Google with transcripts or other documentation from your accredited institution as proof of enrollment or admission status. Computer Science does not need to be your field of study in order to participate in the program. You may be enrolled as a full-time or part-time student. You must also be eligible to work in the country in which you’ll reside throughout the duration of the program.

Remuneration

Google will provide a stipend of 5500 USD per accepted student developer, of which 5000 USD goes to the student and 500 USD goes to the mentoring organization.

  • Accepted students in good standing with their mentoring organization will receive a 500 USD stipend shortly after coding begins on May 21, 2012.
  • Students who receive passing mid-term evaluations will receive a 2250 USD stipend shortly after the mid-term evaluation deadline, July 13, 2012.
  • Students who receive passing final evaluations and who have submitted their final program evaluations will receive a 2250 USD stipend shortly after the final evaluation deadline, August 24, 2012.

Application

Students can submit their applications via the Google Summer of Code 2012 site from March 27 – April 6, 2012. It is heard almost universally from the mentoring organizations that the best applications they receive are from students who took the time to interact and discuss their ideas before submitting an application, so make sure to check out each organization’s Ideas list to get to know a particular open source organization better.  In addition to an application, students will be required to sign a Student Participation Agreement

For more information, you can see  Frequently Asked Questions and timeline.

You can also search for more tips on Internet Relay Chat (IRC), join the mailing lists or follow various social networking sites. You might also want to subscribe to the Google Open Source Blog for regular program updates.

The Official Website

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