Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Program

    The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) president, Jeffrey M. Osborn, stated that educational outcomes obtained by students participating in undergraduate research or another type of engaged learning are broader than those of students not participating in these activities (Osborn, 2008, p 5).  Some of the gains made by these students which the president identified include cognitive and intellectual growth, professional growth and advancement, and personal growth.  Osborn explained that students engaging in these activities demonstrated "increased creativity and critical thinking, enhanced ability to put classroom knowledge into practice, greater persistence in the major, higher rates of acceptance and enrollment in graduate/professional schools, enhanced ability to work collaboratively with others in teams, and enhanced development of personal initiative," (Osborn, 2008, p 4-5).

   The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) has also identified several "high impact" activities that increase the likelihood of student engagement and success in college.  According to the NSSE Annual Report: Experiences That Matter (2007), these high impact activities are marked by several key characteristics. They demand that students devote considerable time and effort, require students to work closely with faculty and other students in a substantial fashion, increase the likelihood that students will experience working with diverse individuals, assure that students gain frequent feedback about their performance on a regular basis, and provide opportunities for students to see how their learning works in different contexts such as field work or internships (NSSE Annual Report, 2007). "As a result, students better understand themselves in relation to others and the larger world, and acquire intellectual tools and ethical grounding to act with confidence" (NSSE Annual Report, p 8). 

   Clearly, participation in a well developed undergraduate research or creative activities project includes all of these characteristics. The Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Program (URCA) at SIUE provides a well developed undergraduate research or creative experience for undergraduate students.  Accepting up to 25 URCA Associates and 80 URCA Assistants, faculty work with students in the pursuit of scholarly excellence.

References

Osborn, J. M. (2009). From the president: assessing outcomes. Council on Undergraduate Research Quarterly, 29, 4-5.

Center for Postsecondary Research. (2007). Experiences that matter: Enhancing student learning and success annual report 2007. Bloomington, IN.

Two Ways to Participate:

Be a URCA Associate or a URCA Assistant!

URCA Associates

Working with a faculty mentor, URCA Associates will lead their own research project or creative activity and be the principal investigator in their project.  Associates will work continuously for both the fall and spring semester to complete their approved URCA project.  The Associate will submit a proposal and be selected by the URCA Board in the spring semester and conduct the project the following academic year. Click here to see guidelines for the proposal. These students will receive a $2000 award, and the department will receive funding to purchase materials for the student's project. Associates will be expected to give presentations about the URCA to undergraduate classes on campus and attend monthly URCA Associates meetings. 

Associates:

• Lead an independent project
• Manage the project budget
• Receive guidance from a faculty mentor
• Participate in the URCA Symposium

Benefits:

• $2000 award for the academic year
• $500 for materials related to the project
• $400 in travel to present research or creative activity
• Opportunity to work closely with faculty mentor
• Opportunity to develop scholarly relationships with other URCA Associates
• Development of leadership skills
• Opportunity to publish project results in professional journals

The following are requirements of all URCA Associates in the URCA Program at SIUE:

• Must be of sophomore- or junior-level standing at time of application. Applicant may be senior-level, as long as he or she will not graduate before completing full academic year in URCA Program
• Must have/maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or above
• Must be conducting research or a creative project in the student's major or minor field of study, and must have a faculty mentor in that area
• Must maintain adequate progress toward the completion of the URCA project and attend URCA sponsored events/workshops
• Must be enrolled as a full-time student at SIUE (minimum of 12 credit hours) for entire length of participation in the URCA Program
• Must obtain necessary clearances/permits (such as with IRB, Animal Care, Hazardous Material or field study sites) BEFORE beginning research or creative activity
• The Associate's project will be conducted in the fall and spring of the upcoming year.  Funding may be received to begin the project as early as July 1st of the year the proposal is submitted and accepted.  The project should reach completion in March the following spring.

URCA Assistants

URCA Assistants work on faculty-led research or creative activities.  The Assistants will work approximately 9 hours per week under the direct guidance of a faculty member on projects directly related to research or creative activities.  Assistant positions are for one semester and can be renewed. Up to 80 Assistants per semester will receive an $800 award for their participation. Faculty submit their research or creative activity proposals to the URCA Program and are approved for a URCA Assistant.  Once approved, students apply through this website (online application) to the faculty member and are selected by that faculty member.

Assistants:

• Work on faculty-led research or creative activity for approximately 9 hours each week
• Gain an introductory experience of research or creative activities in a specific field

Benefits:

• Opportunity to work closely with faculty mentor
• Opportunity to explore different areas of research or creative activities
• Possible opportunity to earn 3 hours of course credit for research participation (this is up to the individual faculty mentors; some positions may be for credit, some may not)
• Possible opportunity to earn $800 award per semester of participation (up to 80 research assistant positions per semesters will be funded in this manner)

The following are requirements of all URCA Assistants in the URCA Program at SIUE:

• Must have a cumulative grade point average of 2.3 or above
• Must be enrolled as a full-time student at SIUE (minimum of 12 credit hours) for entire length of participation in the URCA Program
• Must maintain satisfactory progress as defined by the faculty mentor

URCA Website: http://www.siue.edu/urca/

URCA Coordinator: Dr. Laura Pawlow, lpawlow@siue.edu

   For more information on the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Program, contact Dr. Laura Pawlow at (618) 650-2608 or lpawlow@siue.edu.