Recognizing Tomorrow

1
Recognizing Tomorrows Possibilities
Undergraduate Research in the United States
An inquiry or investigation conducted by an
undergraduate student that makes an original
intellectual or creative contribution to the
discipline.
Federal Funding Resources
Presentations to Advocate
Presentation Opportunities
Undergraduate Experiences
Receiving funding for undergraduate research can
be difficult. In general, funding for research
is secured through Federal agency grants or
private foundation funding. Typically funds are
offered for a specific project, and funding
trickles down to the undergraduate level, however
it is often necessary for the Principal
Investigator to explicitly designate funds for
the undergraduates. Some Federal agencies offer
programs to fund research directly, or to create
the infrastructure for sustained research
programs involving undergraduates.
The annual Posters on the Hill event sponsored by
the Council on Undergraduate Research brings
students and their advisors to Washington, D.C.
to meet with their representatives and advocate
for undergraduate research funding.
The largest national presentation opportunity for
students is NCUR, the National Conferences on
Undergraduate Research. The conference regularly
hosts 2,000 students and their faculty mentors to
present their research through posters, oral
presentations, visual arts and performances. For
more information, visit http//www.ncur.org

• Undergraduate research experiences vary
  tremendously across disciplines, localities, and
  types of institution. One popular program is a
  Summer Research Experience. Others use a
  capstone project that involves research as a
  requirement for graduation. Yet other
  institutions deeply integrate research into the
  curriculum. Volume 28, Issues 1 and 2 of the CUR
  Quarterly focused on Models of Undergraduate
  Research. Below is a listing of some of the
  experiences highlighted in those issues
• The College of Saint Benedict/Saint Johns
  University offers an Undergraduate Summer Science
  Exchange with Southwest University in Chongqing,
  China.
• Penn Sate Berks has developed an Independent
  Researcher Model to facilitate faculty-student
  collaborative research in the Humanities
• Utah State University applies a Research Group
  model for students in their College of Business
  Administration
• The Undergraduate Biology Research Program at the
  University of Arizona includes 240 faculty across
  43 departments and off-campus facilities.
• Hope College has a number of Interdisciplinary
  Research projects which include Service Learning.

The attendees are selected through a competitive
process, and participate in multiple sessions on
Capitol Hill. First is an orientation to give
guidelines on how to speak to members of
Congress. Participants then have meetings with
their representatives
Research Experiences for Undergraduates  (REU)
Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI)
The Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)
program supports active research participation by
undergraduate students in any of the areas of
research funded by the National Science
Foundation. REU projects involve students in
meaningful ways in ongoing research programs or
in research projects specifically designed for
the REU program.
The poster session then offers an additional
opportunity to present, and network with members
of Congress and disciplinary program officers.
A number of regional or disciplinary specific
offerings also exist, such as the Southern
California Conference for Undergraduate Research
or the American Chemical Society National
Meetings. The disciplinary meetings offer
networking possibilities as student research is
often presented alongside of faculty
research. Professional societies such as the
Association of American Colleges and Universities
also offer opportunities to discuss undergraduate
research.
The Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI)
activity supports research by faculty members of
predominantly undergraduate institutions through
the funding of individual and collaborative
research projects, the purchase of shared-use
research instrumentation, and Research
Opportunity Awards for work with NSF-supported
investigators at other institutions.
CUR Quarterly Journal
Undergraduate Scholarship Program
The NIH Undergraduate Scholarship Program (UGSP)
offers competitive scholarships to exceptional
students from disadvantaged backgrounds who are
committed to biomedical, behavioral, and social
science research careers at the NIH.
The CUR Quarterly serves as the official public
voice of CUR to both its members and to a
broader community.  Its purpose is to provide
useful and inspiring information about
student-faculty collaborative research and
scholarship from all types of institutions.  The
goal and function is to advance the mission of
CUR.  Articles often include models and
best-practices
Higher Education Challenge Grants
Undergraduate Journals
Many States also host events at their State
Capitol buildings. These events, modeled after
the CUR Posters on the Hill, offer an opportunity
for more students to attend as they are local.
In most cases, state officials, local business
owners, and regional disciplinary organization
officers attend these poster sessions.
These projects address a an educational need and
involve a creative or non-traditional approach
toward addressing that need that can serve as a
model to others to encourage and facilitate
better working relationships in the university
science and education community.
Undergraduate Student Research Project
The NASA Undergraduate Student Research Project,
or USRP, offers internship opportunities for
undergraduate
Institutional Celebrations
science and engineering students at all 10 NASA
centers and additional partner facilities. These
mentor-guided internships provide hands-on,
real-life, career-related experiences that
challenge, inspire, and provide practical
application that complements and expands upon
students' academic education.
Institutions and Communities across the United
States offer opportunities for students to
present their research. Ranging in size and
discipline, these celebration days honor the
outstanding research undergraduates conduct
through faculty-student collaboration.
Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships
This program places students in paid internships
in Science and Engineering at any of several
Department of Energy facilities.
Utah Research Posters on the Hill
Wisconsin Posters in the Rotunda
Assessment/Student Outcomes
Many of the participants in the program have
decided on a career in science and engineering
because of the nature of the experience. Students
work with scientists or engineers on projects
related to the laboratories' research programs.
Department of Energy
University of California Irvine
Studies on undergraduate research assessment and
student outcomes are gaining increased interest
in the United States. Some studies have focused
on programmatic goals, while others have tried to
understand outcomes for students or faculty
resulting from these experiences. The studies
have ranged widely in methodology, size and type
of student population, and institutional type.
Following are references for some current
assessment literature on undergraduate-research
experiences. Lopatto, D. (2004) Survey of
Undergraduate Research Experiences (SURE) First
findings. Cell Biology Education, 3(4),
270-277. Russell, S. H. (2005, November).
Evaluation of NSF support for undergraduate
research opportunities Survey of STEM graduates,
draft final report. Menlo Park, CA SRI
International. Retrieved September 15, 2010, from
http//www.sri.com/policy/csted/reports/university
/documents/STEM20report20Nov2072005.pdf. Seym
our, E., Hewitt, N.M. (1997). Talking about
leaving Why undergraduates leave the sciences.
Boulder, CO Westview Press.
Private Foundation Funding
Missouri State University
Loyola University Chicago
Private Foundations are able to easily fund
high-risk or interdisciplinary research. This
makes them an integral part in the funding scheme
of undergraduate research in the United States.
A small sampling of Private Foundations offering
funds for undergraduate research are listed.
Brown University
University of Maryland Baltimore County
Bridgewater State University
University of Pennsylvania
A more detailed list of celebration days can be
found at http//www.cur.org/Publications/celebra
tiondays.asp
A more detailed list of undergraduate journals
can be found at http//www.cur.org/ugjournal.html