Biology

Undergraduate students at WKU can apply for a new award to facilitate student-faculty research.

Provost Gordon Emslie and Vice President for Research Gordon Baylis announced the program to stimulate student-faculty collaborative research programs at a meeting of deans and department heads.

All undergraduate students in good academic standing who have reached sophomore status or beyond will be able to apply for one of up to 100 awards per year.

The application consists of a brief discussion of the intended research project and plans for dissemination of results.  It will be written jointly by the student and a faculty mentor.  An award will consist of funds to support a student stipend and research expenses.  Funds will also support travel to professional conferences for students and their faculty mentors to present and publish the results.

“We are very pleased to offer this opportunity to our students,” Dr. Emslie said.  “We at WKU are immensely proud of our talented student body and of our faculty mentors.  We hope that this financial support will not only encourage more students to team with faculty members in research activities, but also for that research to be disseminated at regional and national meetings, thus promoting the value of a WKU degree.”

Dr. Baylis said research is a core element of a college education.

“This program showcases how our research mission is centered on our students, and how we are educating students to control their own destiny,” he said. “In emphasizing student initiative, this program is a perfect complement to our student business accelerator program, in which students can commercialize their ideas in a closely mentored environment.”

Applications will be accepted in March for summer/fall semesters and in October for the spring semester.  Details on how to apply will be circulated on the campus in the next month or so.

Information and applications will be available from the Office of Academic Affairs and Office of Research websites.

Contact: Gordon Emslie, (270) 745-2297.