Getting Involved in Student-Faculty Research and Creative Activity

A “Mark of Excellence” of UW-Eau Claire is its emphasis on student participation in research, scholarlship, and creative activity. In 1988, UW-Eau Claire was named the Center of Excellence for Faculty and Undergraduate Student Research Collaboration within the UW System. Put plainly, this means we are the center of undergraduate research in Wisconsin. UW-Eau Claire provides opportunities to undergraduates to engage in research and creative inquiry that larger universities give primarily to their graduate students.

Working on a scholarly research/creative project with a faculty member is an opportunity for you to go beyond learning in the classroom and become actively involved in creating knowledge and new meaning within the discipline. You get to do it instead of just learning about it. Not only that, it is typically challenging, fun, and very satisfying. You will learn things you don’t learn in a classroom. Support for student research and creative activities is a fundamental part of ORSP's mission. In addition to sponsoring the Celebration of Excellence in Research and Creative Activity (CERCA), ORSP provides funding for faculty-student research/creative activity collaborations and student travel to present at conferences. 

Watch this short video about what undergraduate research can do for you!

"Undergraduate research was by FAR the most influential factor in post-school offers (grad school and jobs)."  

Summer Research Fellowships/Internships

Summer Research Fellowships/Internship programs span a range of disciplines. See program website for specific due dates.

• American Institute for Economic Research: Offers a Summer Fellowship Program that provides intensive training in economics. Visiting staff and research fellows expose students to research that is unlikely to reach mainstream classrooms via the conventional textbook route. Find more information here
• American Museum of Natural History: Anthropology Internships: Offers internships for students interested in anthropology, museums, or related fields. Find more information here
• Amgen Scholars: Supports participation in university research projects at one of 10 universities, including Stanford, UC Berkeley, and University of Washington.
• Department of Commerce: Offers opportunities for hands-on education and training related to many fields of interest, including business; life, health, and medical sciences; communications and graphic design; mathematics; computer science; physical sciences. More info at https://careers.state.gov/intern/student-internships/.
• Department of Energy: Scholars Program provides summer internships to undergraduates and graduate students. Majors accepted include engineering; physical sciences; environmental sciences; computer science and information technology; physics; program management; math; statistics; safety and health; accounting and finance; law; and other related discipline areas. More info at http://orise.orau.gov/doescholars/ and https://www.energy.gov/jobs/careers/students-recent-graduates.
• Energy Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship Program: provides students with an opportunity to gain and develop research skills with the Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy for 10 weeks over the summer.  More info at http://orise.orau.gov/mlef/
• Department of Homeland Security: Sponsors a 10-week summer internship program for rising juniors and seniors majoring in homeland security related science, technology, engineering and mathematics (HS-STEM) disciplines. More info at http://www.dhs.gov/homeland-security-careers/students.
• Dow Jones Newspaper Fund: Supports summer internships in editing and reporting. Program provides free pre-internship training seminars on college campuses and weekly salaries. Interns who return to college full-time the following fall receive $1,000 scholarships from the fund.
• Council on Undergraduate Research - Psychology Division: Furthers the goals of Psi Chi by providing funds for undergraduate Psi Chi members to conduct summer research under the supervision of faculty. Awards include a $3,500 student stipend and a $1,500 faculty mentor stipend. More info at https://www.cur.org/membership-community/divisions/psychology-division/
• German Academic Exchange Service: Offers 2-3 month summer internships in Germany for research in biology, chemistry, physics, earth sciences, and engineering.
• Keck Geology Consortium: Includes 4 weeks of summer research, continuing research during the academic year, attendance at the annual Keck Geology Consortium Symposium, and a publication in the annual Keck Geology Consortium proceedings volume.
• SURF Undergraduate Research Fellowships: Provides a ten-week summer internship in research laboratories at California Institute of Technology. Underrepresented students are encouraged to apply.
• NanoJapan - International Research Experiences for Undergraduates: Provides summer research opportunities in Japanese university laboratories with Japanese mentors focused on the study of THz dynamics of nano structures.
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Provides access to all agency-wide internship/fellowship opportunities for students pursuing degrees in STEM fields. More info at https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/internship-programs/.
• National Institute of Standards and Technology: Invites undergraduate students to apply for the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program at one of the six NIST laboratories in Gaithersburg, MD: Material Measurement Laboratory, Physical Measurement Laboratory, Engineering Laboratory, Information Technology Laboratory, Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, NIST Center for Neutron Research.
  NOTE: This proposal must be submitted by the University, through ORSP. More info at https://www.nist.gov/surf/surf-gaithersburg.
• National Institutes of Health: Offers an opportunity to spend a summer working at the NIH side-by-side with some of the leading scientists in the world in an environment devoted exclusively to biomedical research. More info at https://www.training.nih.gov/research-training/pb/sip/
• National Science Foundation: Supports active research participation by undergraduate students through the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. NSF provides a searchable database, listing active REU programs. More info at http://www.nsf.gov/od/oia/activities/interns/.
• Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE): Seeks summer fellows to focus on public health issues related to the environment. Sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH), and Division of Laboratory Sciences (DLS). Current undergraduate and graduate students majoring in applied sciences that have completed three years of major coursework may apply.
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory: Offers a variety of summer research programs in STEM areas related to energy.
• The Pine Integrated Network: The Education, Mitigation and Adaptation Project (PINEMAP) Undergraduate Fellowship Program provides undergraduate fellows from across the United States with a research experience under a graduate student, post-doc, or research staff mentor and prepares them to successfully deliver secondary school science or social studies lessons based on summer research. More info at http://www.pinemap.org/education/undergraduate
• Rutgers University - Research in Science and Engineering (RiSE): Invites sophomores, juniors, and non-graduating seniors with strong academic credentials, a passion for research, and an interest in graduate school to participate in a 10-week summer research program.
• Smithsonian Institute: Offers internship opportunities across many Smithsonian museums/centers, including Astrophysical Observatory, Center for Education and Museum Studies, Environmental Research Center, National Air and Space Museum, National Museum of the American Indian, and Smithsonian Gardens. More info at http://www.smithsonianofi.com/.
• University of Central Florida - Preparing Future Researcher: Offers summer research experiences to help prepare for graduate school in the following disciplines: Chemistry, Criminal Justice, Security Studies, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Optics and Photonics.
• University of Missouri: Offers a variety of summer programs, including cell and molecular biology, animal sciences, and computational neuroscience. More info at https://undergradresearch.missouri.edu/external-summer-research-opportunities/
• U.S. Department of State: Offers intensive summer language institutes in thirteen critical foreign languages. More info at http://www.clscholarship.org/.
• WAVE Fellows Program: Provides support for talented undergraduates intent on pursuing a Ph.D. to conduct a 10-week summer research project at Caltech. The program is extended, but not limited, to underrepresented minorities, women, first-generation college students, geographically underrepresented students, and educationally and financially disadvantaged students.

Other Research Funding Opportunities

See program website for specific due dates. For many applications, you must work with a faculty mentor to complete.

• Active Minds Emerging Scholars: Provides an opportunity for students to complete independent mental health projects and connect with a network of young scholars and national experts in the field of behavioral health. More info at https://www.activeminds.org/programs/emerging-scholars-fellowship/
• Sigma Xi - Grants-in-Aid of Research: Supports student scientific investigation in any field. Awards are up to $1,000. More info at https://www.sigmaxi.org/programs/grants-in-aid.

Interested in Applying to Graduate School?

The Council on Undergraduate Research hosts a Registry of Undergraduate Researchers. This registry facilitates matchmaking between undergraduates who have research experience and a desire to pursue an advanced degree, with graduate schools seeking high quality students who are well prepared for research. All you need to do is fill out a simple curriculum vitae form and Graduate Schools will be informed of your interest.