Student Research Opportunities & Resources

Do you want to get involved in research at WCU? Click this video link to find out how

2024 SRCA Student Award Winners

Undergraduate Recipients

Alexa Cesari
Pre Medicine

Rajal Vyas
Biomedical Engineering

Everett Frey
Theory, History, and Composition

Elijah McBride
Theatre Arts

Hannah Linkowsky
Early and Middle Grades

Abigail Boquist
Secondary Education and K-12 Health and Physical Education

Graduate Recipients

Maitiya Meadows
Public Health

Naya Weeks
Public Health

Erika Lucas
Educational Leadership and Higher Education Administration

Haley Fry
Educational Leadership and Higher Education Administration

Suzanne Fanelle
Educational Leadership and Higher Education Administration

Michelle Fisher
Educational Leadership and Higher Education Administration

Sara Mohler
Literacy

SURI 2024 RECIPIENTS

Eric Budu
Biomedical Engineering

Emma Carpenter
Nutrition and Dietetics

Amanda Cohan
Biology

Alexander Conzaman
Communication Sciences and Disorders

Gabrielle Curtis
Sports Medicine

Dominick DeStefano
Music Theory and Composition

Tobias Dugger
Chemistry

Angel Flowers
Physics and Engineering

Garrett Fong
Biology

Sage Forsythe
Biology

Ava Hawthorne
Biomedical Engineering

Sarah Heinrichs
Chemistry

Lee Irvine
Political Science

Brianna Landwersiek
Biomedical Engineering

Chance Macariola
Physics and Engineering

Sasha Mochocki
Biology

Chris Needham
Biomedical Engineering

Carolynn Odonnell
Biology

Gianna Parrish
Cell & Molecular Biology

Josh Pitts
Biomedical Engineering

Elizabeth Sawaked
Chemistry

Kevin Thoman
Secondary Education

Liam Turnage
Studio Composition

Tyler Vidal
Chemistry

Connor Walker
Geography and Planning

Abigail Walton
Instrumental Performance

Elizabeth Weaver
Music Education and Therapy

Abigail Weinstein
Chemistry

Summer Undergraduate Research Institute (SURI)

This opportunity has passed. Please check back fall 2024.

OVERVIEW

The WCU Summer Undergraduate Research Institute (SURI) was created to increase the interest in and opportunities for undergraduate research and creative activity in all disciplines. Students work collaboratively with a faculty mentor through a five-week program in the first summer session, conducting research and creative activities which will help prepare students for graduate-level studies and/or careers. SURI participants will spend 37.5 hours a week on their project and receive a stipend to support their work. Students will also participate in weekly research-focused events and activities, to foster collaboration and networking. Contact a faculty member today to discuss your interest in research and apply for our next SURI cohort!

ELIGIBILITY
  • All WCU students who will be enrolled as undergraduates and who will remain enrolled at the university through the completion of their project.
  • Able to work full-time (37.5 hours/week) during the five-week duration of the program.
FUNDING

Students will receive a stipend to work on their research and creative activity project under the mentorship of a WCU faculty member and are expected to submit a final report August 13, 2024.

Research and Creative Activity Day

JOIN US for Research & Creative Activity Day on Wednesday, April 17th, 2024 from 9:30am – 2:00pm in Sykes Ballrooms. This event highlights student, faculty, and administrator research from all academic disciplines across our campus community. We look forward to seeing you there!

Learn more about Research and Creative Activity Day

Student Research and Creative Activity (SRCA)

This opportunity has passed. Please check back fall 2024.

West Chester University invites applications for our Spring 2024 Student Research and Creative (SRCA) Awards. The purpose of the SRCA is to recognize outstanding graduate and undergraduate students who have COMPLETED original research or creative projects in collaboration with a faculty mentor. Each SRCA application must be sponsored by a faculty mentor who has read and approved the application. SRCA awards are presented to students who have conducted independent work that is original and substantive, given the standards and objectives of their field. Students also must be enrolled at the university during the Spring 2024 semester to be eligible to apply.

STEPS TO APPLY
  1. The student should fill out the SRCA Application Form and submit it to studentresearch@wcupa.edu with the subject line: ‘SRCA Application 2024.
  2. The research or creative activity mentor should fill out the SRCA Faculty Mentor Recommendation form and email it to studentresearch@wcupa.edu. The Faculty Mentor Recommendation forms will only be accepted if e-mailed from a faculty mentor’s address. Please include the student’s first and last name, ‘SRCA Faculty Recommendation 2024’ in the subject line.

The Compost Research & Education Foundation (CREF)

Call for Proposals: February 15, 2024
Proposals due: April 15, 2024

The Compost Research & Education Foundation (CREF) is offering scholarships to undergraduate through PhD students, studying at a college or university in the US, interested in doing a compost-related research project. The scholarship is for $4,000, and also includes an invitation to present research findings at a US Composting Council Annual Conference during a CREF research session.

The goal of this scholarship is to bring assistance to students doing compost-related research and to spark interest in future careers in the composting industry.

Learn more about the scholarship requirements and to apply.

Student Undergraduate Research Foundations (SURF)

This opportunity has passed. Please check back in Fall 2024 for the Spring 2025 opportunity.

OVERVIEW

West Chester University invites applications for our 2024 Spring West Chester Student Undergraduate Research Foundations (previously WCU Undergraduate Creative Activity and Research Experience WCU-CARES). The purpose of WCU-SURF is to:

      • Increase the interest in and opportunities for undergraduate research or creative activity in all disciplines.
      • Promote scholarly collaboration between students and faculty.
      • Promote critical thinking and prepare students for careers and graduate studies.
ELIGIBILITY

All WCU students who will be enrolled as undergraduates during the Spring semester of 2024 may apply. These projects must be carried out during the Spring of 2024, under the mentorship of a WCU faculty member.

FUNDING

Up to 20 undergraduate applicants will be chosen to receive a $500 stipend to work on research and creative activity projects under the mentorship of a WCU faculty member for 5 hours/week for ten weeks during the Spring semester of 2024.

Experiential Learning Survey

All enrolled students were asked to participate in an Experiential Learning Survey & were asked this question:

"Looking back, what was the highlight of your experiential learning – what impacted you the most?"

Here are some of their responses:

  • “How research is a vital key in our lives and studies.”
  • “Having a close relationship with faculty that allowed me to learn firsthand how to conduct research at the graduate level.”
  • “I learn most when doing hands on activities, this research experience has taught me so much because I am actually collecting and analyzing data on my own. As a person who wants to go into research in the future, this is a very important skill to have. Learning this in a class is one thing, but actually doing a project of my own (with guidance from my advisor) has helped me develop these skills in a unique way.”
  • “I enjoy being able to participate in research that relates to my passions.”
  • “I believe engaging in research with my professor help shaped who I am. They have pushed me past my boundaries to make me stronger in my field. From that experience, I feel like I have created a direct career goal and passion.”
  • “Research impacted me the most. I have mentors and peers who share the same interests and bringing academia to life was a life-changing opportunity.”

Ramifications Publication

Ramifications is a student-run, peer-reviewed, open-access undergraduate journal published through the Council for Undergraduate Research at West Chester University. Ramifications publishes journal articles documenting research and creative activities completed by undergraduate students. West Chester University, part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, believes in the importance of student scholarship as an outgrowth of student learning, Ramifications is an expression of that learning.

Current Issue: Volume 3, Issue 1 (2023) Fall 2023

Goats Die, Butterflies Fly: Portrayals of Dominican Dictator Rafael Trujillo (1891–1961) in Historical Fiction and Non-Fiction

Intersections of Violence Against Immigrant Women on the United States-Mexico Border

Addressing Discrimination at West Chester University: A Battle at all Levels

 

 

Student Research Picture Gallery

 

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