Program Overview     |      Program Specifics   |     Mentors and Projects     |     Application

Wolves to Rams NIH Summer REU

Program Overview

“REU” stands for Research Experience for Undergraduates, and is the official name of the summer component of the W2R Research Internship program.

Real world problems and their solutions are researched and studied in labs following standardized processes for scientific research. The path of research encompasses:

  • gathering information regarding what’s already known in the field on a specific topic
  • developing the right questions to ask in order to learn about a new aspect
  • conducting experiments which attempt to answer those questions
  • interpreting this new data, and
  • communicating the learned knowledge to the greater community

Although individual groups may work on one or more parts of this cycle, it is critical that students appreciate and acquire some understanding of the entire process. The W2R REU program provides students an introduction to a variety of aspects of research in the sciences. In addition, students participate in activities that will enrich their communication, ethics and networking skills. See the Program Specifics section for more details.

Goals

Besides offering students competitively paid summertime positions in or near their city of residence, the W2R REU program aims to:

  • connect community college students to their local university community
  • conduct cutting-edge academic research at Colorado State University, and
  • provide opportunities in research labs specifically for students at an earlier stage in their undergraduate education who would not normally have the chance to participate in research at their home institution. Students from underrepresented groups are of particular focus.

In an effort to achieve these goals simultaneously, our REU Mentors & Projects section highlights an example of opportunities recently available.

Student researchers will be plugged into thoughtfully-constructed assignments such as these during their application process, aiming to maximize personal and professional growth.