Undergraduate Research at UCF

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Undergraduate Research at UCF

• Kimberly Schneider, Ph.D.
• Director, Office of Undergraduate Research
• Michael Aldarondo-Jeffries
• Director, Research and Mentoring Program McNair
  Scholars
• Kelly Astro Denise Crisafi
• The Burnett Honors College

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Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR)

• Mission
• Strengthen and enrich the undergraduate research
  climate at UCF
• www.OUR.ucf.edu

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Basic Model
Research Project
Faculty Mentor
Student
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Undergraduate Research

• Getting Started
• Student
• Faculty
• Programs
• Student Application
• Student/Faculty Application
• Faculty Application
• Student Opportunities
• Workshops
• Present
• Publish
• Research and Assessment

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Getting Started
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Getting Started- Students

• Workshops
• Beginning of each semester
• Summer Research Academy
• Three day academy, June 19-21, 2008
• Rising sophomores and juniors transfer students
• SRA Scholars receive 1 credit, room, and board
• Apps due April 18, 2008
• Student Undergraduate Research Council
• Appointments

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Getting Started- Faculty

• Summer Research Academy
• Participate in Site Visit
• Participate in Reception
• Post Openings
• www.OUR.ucf.edu
• Submit Interest Forms
• Honors College
• RAMP and McNair Scholars
• Join the Undergraduate Research Council

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Ways of Participation

• Volunteer
• Great starting point
• Ideal for Freshmen and Sophomores
• Check with department
• Credit
• Independent research credit, check with
  department
• Paid
• Stipend, scholarship, or hourly
• UCF programs OR faculty mentors grants
• Often larger time commitment (10-20hrs/week)

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Programs
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Program- Student apply
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McNair Scholars

• Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement
  Program
• TRIO program U.S. Department of Education.
• UCF is one of 180 institutions nationally
  selected to participate
• Program Goals
• Increase award of graduate degrees to students
  from under-represented segments of society.
• Prepare students for post-graduate coursework
  through engagement in research with a faculty
  mentor as well as participation in related
  activities.

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McNair Scholars

• 3.0 GPA required
• Supports 25 students annually
• Scholars participate in
• Summer Research Experience
• GRE Prep Course
• Two Research Prep Courses
• Graduate School Visits
• Conference Presentations

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Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)

• Lasers, Optics and Optical Materials College of
  Optics and Photonics
• Advanced Materials Processing and Analysis
  Center(AMPAC) 
• Advances of Machine Learning in Theory
  Applications
• Computer Vision
• Math and Physics

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Off-Campus Summer Experiences

• Programs away from UCF
• Summer Research Experiences around the country
• Some experiences in Fall and Spring semester
• Workshop January 14th, 400 530pm SU, 218B
• Visit www.OUR.ucf.edu
• Posted Soon
• Details about the average programs
• Search opportunities

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Programs- Student/Faculty Apply
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Research and Mentoring Program(RAMP)

• The program is an initiative of the Provosts
  Office
• Purposes of RAMP
• Increase interaction outside the classroom
  between faculty and students.
• To provide support and a nurturing environment
  that will translate into minority students
  feeling more secure and comfortable.
• To provide students first-hand experiences with
  the research process.
• To educate students about graduate school and
  other post-baccalaureate opportunities.

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Research and Mentoring Program(RAMP)

• Applications due early Fall Semester, Juniors
• Two year program
• 3.0 GPA cumulative minimum
• RAMP supports 75 students per year
• Students participate in workshops and graduate
  school prep activities
• UCF Graduate fellowship opportunities

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Honors in the Major(HIM)

• Graduate with Honors in the Major Distinction
• Juniors and seniors develop their own independent
  research projects
• At least two semesters to complete
• HIM students work closely with a thesis advisor
  and a faculty thesis committee
• HIM is open to all qualified UCF students with a
  3.5 GPA in their major

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Student- Mentor Academic Research Teams (SMART)

• Objective Help students identify and work with
  faculty mentors in a research area of shared
  interest
• Available to all qualified UCF students
• Application due mid-semester for following
  semester
• Students typically sophomores or juniors
• Must have two semester left before graduating
• Most assist faculty on existing projects
• Some develop independent research projects

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OUR Grant

• UCF Undergraduate Student Research Grant
• Encourages undergraduate students from all
  disciplines to participate in independent
  research and creative projects in collaboration
  with UCF faculty.
• Grants up to 500
•  Applications Due Jan. 18, 2008
• Next year mid-October

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Programs-Faculty Apply
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Undergraduate Research Initiative

• Deadline for Proposals Rolling until funding is
  exhausted
• Closed for Academic Year
• Objective of program
• Increase the involvement of undergraduate
  students in research
• Encourage students to pursue graduate-level
  research and study
• Up to 3,000 per student per year to researchers
• Dollar-for-dollar matching support for student
  wages
• Provide matching support for new proposals
• Supplement existing contract and grant research

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Student Opportunities
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Workshops

• Getting Ready to Present
• Writing an abstract, synthesizing information
• Preparing a Poster Presentation
• Basic and Advanced Skills
• Preparing an Oral Presentation
• Academic Publishing

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Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence
(SURE)

• www.showcase.ucf.edu
• April 4, 2008, Apps due February 22
• Poster- or display-based forum
• 10,000 awarded in scholarships!
• Need Faculty Judges

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Travel Awards

• OUR awards
• Students presenting research papers
• Conferences, seminars, and workshops
• Rolling Applications visit www.OUR.ucf.edu
• SGA Awards
• Contact Conference Registration and Travel
  Committee (sga_crt_at_mail.ucf.edu)

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Undergraduate Research Journal

• Showcase student research in all fields
• Need Faculty Reviewers
• Department transfer 100
• Please visit the web site http//www.URJ.ucf.edu
  for
• Information
• Submission guidelines
• Current Issue

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Research and Assessment
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NSSE

• Oversampling of undergraduate researchers
• Added section of questions
• Provide insights between differences in
  effectiveness of programs

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Research on Undergraduate Research Grants

• UCF CASTL team
•  3 grants of 2,500 each
• Proposals are due on January 14, 2008,
• Projects are to be completed by May 2009.
• www.our.ucf.edu

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Learn More!

• Let us know if OUR can help
• www.our.ucf.edu OR our_at_ucf.edu
• Phillips Hall 208