Record Numbers For Summer Undergraduate Research Participation

The Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) program saw record participation in summer 2023. Twenty-seven faculty worked with sixty-three College of Arts and Sciences students on research projects in disciplines as varied as Theology, Biology, Ethnic Studies, and Mathematics. The Humanities were especially strongly represented this year.  

The College recognizes undergraduate research as a high-impact practice that prepares students for finding meaningful work after graduation. For their work this summer, student researchers received a stipend and free campus housing during the research weeks. In addition to working on their research projects, all SURE participants were encouraged to attend weekly “BrainFood” events. Open to students from the College, the Shiley School of Engineering, and the Provost’s Initiative for Undergraduate Research, these were opportunities for students to have interdisciplinary conversations and learn from faculty speakers. Over 185 students and faculty participated in seven weeks of “BrainFood” programming, which was organized and funded by the College of Arts and Sciences.  

SURE director Dr. Jacquie Van Hoomissen is thrilled with the high numbers of participants in undergraduate research in this record year and hopes for such enthusiastic participation in summer 2024. Faculty proposals for next year will be due by the end of this fall semester. All full-time CAS faculty are eligible to apply for SURE stipends, and more information, including the timeline, can be found in the Pilots Portal in the “College of Arts and Sciences” drop-down menu, under “Faculty Development.”