Research Experience For Undergraduates
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Research Experiences for Undergraduates (or REUs) are competitive summer research programs in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
for undergraduates studying science,
engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
, or
mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
. The programs are sponsored by the
National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...
, and are hosted in various universities. REUs tend to be specialized in a particular field of science. There are REUs in many scientific fields such as mathematics, physics, chemistry,
geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...
, biology, psychology, and computer science. There are two kinds of REU experiences: REU individual experiences (funded by NSF via their REU Supplements category of grant supplements) and REU sites (funded by NSF via their REU Sites category of grant proposals).


How students apply to participate

REU sites typically consist of ten undergraduates working in the research program of the host institution either in the US or abroad, for example,
CERN The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in Meyrin, western suburb of Gene ...
. As the program is funded by the NSF, undergraduates must be citizens or permanent residents of the US or its possessions to be eligible for funding. However, some REU sites accept "self-funder" international students. Applications are typically due between February and the end of April. The length of the application ranges from a single letter of reference without supporting materials all the way up to something comparable to a college admissions application. The programs generally require between one and three letters of reference, a transcript, 0-2 essays, a letter of interest, a resume, a biographical form, or some combination thereof. Although all eligible students are encouraged to apply, there is an emphasis on including populations underrepresented in science—women, underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities. REU individual experiences typically consist of one undergraduate student, or two undergraduate students working together. Sometimes these undergraduates work with a larger research team that includes graduate students. These REU experiences take place at the student's current university, and can last anywhere from a few weeks to an entire year. The application process varies by the particular faculty member who plans to work with these students.


Compensation

Students participating in REU sites are generally provided with a modest stipend ($4,000–$8,000 for 10 weeks of work), housing, transportation to and from the site, and often arrangements for food. REU individual experiences pay (stipends or on an hourly basis) at about the same payrate as REU sites.


History

Research grants which included
undergraduate research Undergraduate research is often described as the exploration of a specific research topic by an undergraduate student that seeks to make an original contribution to the discipline. It is a fairly recent concept in the academic community, with root ...
assistants have been funded from the very beginning of the NSF. But in 1958, the NSF established the Undergraduate Research Participation Program, and funding for that program continued until FY 1982, when it was abolished in the Reagan Administration cuts of NSF education funding. A program to enhance research experiences for undergraduates was reestablished in FY 1987 with the title Research Experiences for Undergraduates. One long-running REU-site in the 1990s was
Washington University's Computer Science SURA Program Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A m ...
.


See also

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List of undergraduate research journals An undergraduate research journal is an academic journal dedicated to publishing the work of undergraduate research students. Such journals have been described as important for the professionalization of students into their academic discipline and ...
*
Research Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...
*
Undergraduate education Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...
*
Undergraduate research journal An undergraduate research journal is an academic journal dedicated to publishing the work of undergraduate research students. Such journals have been described as important for the professionalization of students into their academic discipline and ...
*
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program An Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program provides funding and/or credit to undergraduate students who volunteer for faculty-mentored research projects pertaining to all academic disciplines. Participating universities Universities involved ...


References


Further reading

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External links


REU Site

REU-in-a-Box: Expanding the Pool of Computing Researchers

Distributed Research Experiences for Undergraduates
{{authority control Research institutes in the United States Undergraduate education in the United States