Enhancing New Student Success through Undergraduate Research Experiences
Priority Consideration Deadline: April 26, 2022
Commitments made by: May 6, 2022
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The 2022 ENSURE program is open to incoming Austin College first year students, who are first generation college students, from under-represented populations, or qualify for need-based financial aid. Incoming students selected for this experience will receive a stipend to spend 4 weeks of the summer working in an Austin College research lab under the supervision of a faculty member alongside other students from Austin College.
Will you be attending Austin College in the fall of 2022?
The Enhancing New Student Success through Undergraduate Research Experiences (ENSURE) program is an opportunity for students with diverse backgrounds to gain experience in a research laboratory, work with current Austin College undergraduate students, receive mentorship from faculty, and learn about Austin College. Incoming first year students, who are underrepresented minority, first generation college students, and/or exhibit financial need, would be eligible to participate in the ENSURE program for 4 weeks during the summer, 2022. In 2022, the ENSURE program would potentially offer research opportunities in biology, chemistry or mathematics.
Ensure 2022
ENSURE 2022 will be held for 4 weeks in June. Date flexibility may possibly be negotiable with advance request through the CREATE office.
These incoming first year students must be accepted to Austin College and have paid their deposit prior to starting the program. This program would occur during the middle 4 weeks of the Summer Undergraduate Research program (June 2022). The incoming students would join existing summer research teams already in session as part of an 8-10-week program. The new students will work closely with a student mentor as well as a faculty mentor performing research towards a larger goal, but the students will be performing the research, not simply watching. Usually as a team, the work is later disseminated publicly on campus, so students will have opportunities to present the results of their research projects in the Fall at the Women’s Health Forum and in the Spring at the Austin College Student Scholarship Conference.
The benefits to the students will be, an upper-class mentor, faculty advisor, events to integrate them into campus life and connections to on-campus services, and a cohort of fellow students working through their first undergraduate research experience. Students would receive college apartment housing for the time of the program and also be paid $1500 total for four weeks. The commitment is for 40 hours of lab work per week. We expect these students will gain self-confidence and independence in their education so they are prepared to succeed at Austin College. Students should also gain career awareness, mechanisms for identifying internships and fellowships during college, and post-graduation employment options.
If you have questions about the program, please contact the CREATE office.