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Undergraduate Research Experiences (URE)
Your Passport to the Future
What is the Undergraduate Research Experience (URE)?
Essentially, the URE is a way for students to test
their interests in a scientific or engineering
career by becoming engaged in an active research
program or by developing their own investigative
study under the tutelage of a Com-STEM faculty
member.
Options for Engaging in the Undergraduate Research
Experience (URE).
Com-STEM offers students a variety of URE options
from individual projects that can be completed in a
semester (e.g., Biology 404, Chemistry 451 and the SURE program) to
participation in group projects as part of a larger
STEM research team. Students desiring to
participate in a Com-STEM URE can:
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Contact their respective department’s
Com-STEM faculty team leader who will
discuss their interests and direct them to a
research mentor, |
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Contact any Com-STEM research professor and
discuss his/her willingness to serve as a
URE supervisor and mentor, or |
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Contact the Com-STEM program coordinator who
may be aware of Com-STEM professors willing
to mentor students. |
Benefits of the Com-STEM Undergraduate Research
Experience (URE).
Com-STEM offers undergraduates an URE like no
other. Many programs offer only juniors and seniors
the opportunity to participate in
UREs.
However, at McNeese State University, highly
talented and motivated students can participate in
research and independent study programs at all
undergraduate levels. Depending on the level of
scientific knowledge required, students may have the
opportunity to become involved in research in their
freshman year.
For Com-STEM students, the URE can be rewarding for
a variety of reasons. First and foremost, an active
undergraduate research experience not only exposes
students to the exciting worlds of academic research
and teaching careers, but also provides an avenue
for students to learn about career opportunities in
science and technology within the government,
private agency and industry arenas. Secondly, the
Com-STEM URE provides Com-STEM
freshmen, sophomores and juniors the opportunity to
receive points as part of the Com-STEM Academic
Excellence Reward Program. Points become
part of the students’ academic portfolio and are
used in calculating end-of-semester monetary
rewards. Thirdly, students participating in UREs
may receive academic credit in STEM courses. For
example, a student participating in a URE may enroll
in Biology 404 (Undergraduate Research) and/or
Chemistry 451 (Undergraduate Research) and receive
academic credit towards his/her STEM degree. And
last, but not least and depending on the type of
project available, students may have the opportunity
to receive a small stipend while supporting STEM
activities/projects of Com-STEM faculty members.
By participating in the URE, students are able to
make better decisions regarding graduate education
and careers in higher education and research.
Essentially, the URE provides students with the
opportunity to test their interests in a scientific
or engineering career by becoming engaged in an
active research program or by developing their own
investigative study under the tutelage of a faculty
member. Because of the student-mentor interaction
inherent in the URE, students learn about
application and admissions processes for
post-graduate programs, become aware of financial
resources for post-graduate education and, most
importantly, have a ready-reference, the research
mentor, with whom they have worked who can write
letters of recommendation from a more personal
perspective.
Current URE projects available to students.
There are several projects in which Com-STEM faculty
members may involve Com-STEM students. Some of the
projects are listed at the end of the
Sponsored Research Experiences for Undergraduates
(SURE) Program page.
Many times Com-STEM faculty mentors are willing to
supervise students wanting to explore for themselves
specific topics of interest. This type of
investigation sometimes involves “data mining”
(i.e., conducting research on previously reported
scientific data). Such studies allow students the
opportunity to analyze and interpret data within a
reasonable length of time compared to actually
conducting a project that would require months, even
years, to gather information. Many students have
been successful in this type of project and many
have presented the results of their research at
regional science conferences.
For more information on how to arrange for a URE,
CLICK HERE.
For
more information about the Com-STEM Supported URE
(SURE)* Program,
CLICK HERE.
*Note:
The SURE program is the
only Com-STEM supported ($$$) Undergraduate Research
Experiences program. Based on availability of funds
and projects you may find additional UREs supported
by individual professors. All UREs, supported or not
supported, for college credit or for no credit, will
count towards points on the
Academic Excellence Reward Program.
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