GSoC FAQ
This is the page for some of the frequently asked questions by the prospective participants of the Google Summer of Code 2016.
General Questions
Am I required to be local?
Q: If someone is selected as a student coder through the Summer of Code, will they need to be in the Boston area over the summer?
A: No, we are not asking anyone to move to Boston for the summer. While you are most welcome to come and work at the Berkman Center if you are selected for an internship, we will not force anyone accepting an internship to move.
Do I need to keep regular business hours?
Q: If I'm selected, can I work any time of the day that I want?
A: We are going to favor coders that are available for a significant amount of time Monday to Friday during [EST] business hours. We have found that synchronous communication is key to working together effectively. Consider this a requirement.
Can I have other jobs/internships/consulting gigs?
Q: I've got a consulting gig, an internship and another job lined up. Cool?
A: No. We want your full attention for the summer - it's a real job, with a real commitment from both sides.
Do I have to be Harvard-affiliated already?
Q: Is this limited to Harvard and/or Berkman coders?
A: No. This is open to any and all that would like to apply.
Will applying to a certain project give me an advantage?
Q: Are some projects a higher priority than others? If so, what are they?
A: No. Our selection depends on the strength of the applicants and the strength of the applications. We are most interested in finding the right candidates.
Are there any preferred languages/frameworks?
Q: What are they?
A: We prefer that the language and framework for a proposal match the language or framework an existing project is written in. For projects that are orthogonal to an existing code base, we prefer Ruby, PHP, or Perl. We prefer MVC frameworks or micro-frameworks, so for Ruby it'd be Rails or Sinatra, for PHP it'd be Symfony2. Perl would be Catalyst or Dancer. There is some flexibility in frameworks but less in languages. We are not interested in proprietary languages at all, nor in .NET (even under Mono). We also prefer jQuery.
These preferences are based on the skill set of the Berkman geek team and our long-term ability to maintain and host a limited set of languages.
Do you accept late applications?
Q: I'm really late to this. I can still apply after the deadline?
A: No. March 25, 2016 at 19:00 UTC is a hard deadline. Google's policies do not permit us to consider late applications.
Where can I get more information?
Q: I'm still confused. Where can I find out more about GSoC program specifics?
A: No fear! The GSoC homepage has some great general resources for interested students. We suggest checking out:
- The GSoC Student Manual
- The official GSoC FAQ