Over the summer, three Bradley University students participated in the first Summer Undergraduate Research and Artistry Fellowship Program through the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
The program, which was administered by LAS associate dean of engaged learning Derek Montgomery, was designed to help students interested in research develop their own projects and collect their own data.
“The purpose of the program is to provide students with the opportunity to really build on some research that they started, typically during their junior year, and really have time to devote during the summer,” Montgomery said.
Seniors Kaydra Bui, an interdisciplinary major, Emily Walsh, a psychology major, and Andie Miller, an environmental science major, were able to design and complete their own research projects through the program.
By completing the fellowship program over the summer, students are able to focus on their project with limited distractions, according to Montgomery.
“One of the challenges [students] face in academic years is that they have a lot of competing demands like classes and so forth,” Montgomery said. “In the summer, they can concentrate more deeply and thoroughly on their projects so it becomes really, really strong and a really good and in-depth product. It’s a process that is very attractive to graduate schools and potential employers because they know that this student has really focused in depth.”
The three students were required to complete an application asking them to describe their plans for their research topics and to explain why that research is important.
“Students complete an application procedure; Mostly, they detail what they are going to do and why they are going to do it,” Montgomery said. “Usually, it is built on stuff they have already begun with their professors.”
In addition to Montgomery, a committee of Bradley professors reviewed the applicants. The committee included Wayne Bosma, a chemistry professor, Chuck Bukowski, an international studies professor and Devin Murphy, an English professor.
Applicants were selected based on the quality of the proposals, the feasibility of completing the projects over the summer, and the faculty or mentor support for the projects.
Bui, whose research focused on language and the use of hashtags, said the experience provided her with a skillset that she will be able to take with her in her future endeavors.
“I definitely learned lots of theories and practices and methods of research within my field of study, and so those skills and that kind of knowledge is invaluable,” Bui said. “But I also learned a lot about work ethic over the summer. It is a hefty amount of hours, but it is very focused. Two hundred and seventy hours over a whole summer teaches a lot about diligence with independent research.”
The students who participated in summer research will have the opportunity to share their findings at the LAS Student Fellowship Colloquium at 6 p.m. on Oct. 6.
With successful outcomes in its first year, the research program will be seeking applicants at junior standing for next summer. For interested students, it is never too early to start thinking about a potential project, according to Montgomery.
“A good proposal [should] start soon,” Montgomery said. “You want to be thinking about what you want to do, and you want to have a faculty mentor in place so that when it comes time to submit that proposal, you have something really substantial.”
Applications for the next summer are expected to be released during the spring semester.
