Undergraduate Research
From day one, undergraduates are invited into faculty labs to contribute to real research — building skills and confidence that last a lifetime. Our research labs span forest entomology, urban entomology, and ecology of urban greenspaces, bee health, specialty crop entomology, and mosquito and vector biology, making the opportunities to align with undergraduate research as vast as our university.
“What I like about our department is the endless amount of opportunities to grow and learn. I was sent half-way across the globe to research what I love because of this amazing department!”
If you have general questions about getting started with Undergrad Research please contact Joe Raczkowski.
- Determine your area of interest and what type of methods and skills you would like to learn.
- Identify a faculty mentor as a potential mentor by reviewing their research interests and lab sites.
- Contact potential mentors via e-mail to inquire about opportunities to carry out a research project in their lab.
- Set up a meeting with the faculty mentor to discuss project ideas, a research schedule, expectations and credit hours.
Be sure to ask your faculty mentor about the availability of paid research positions in their lab, opportunities to present your research and opportunities to apply for external funding.
Learn more about potential mentors and their research by visiting Entomology's people pages.
There are several opportunities for you to gain research experience while earning course credit:
- ENTMLGY 4193 Individual Studies: provides an opportunity to investigate a particular topic of interest with the guidance of a faculty mentor. This course takes place over one semester, is considered an Independent Study and may be in the form of a literature review and discussion over a specific topic or a specialized project designed by you and your mentor.
- ENTMLGYCS 4998 Undergraduate Research: provides an opportunity for an independent research project under the guidance of a faculty mentor. Undergraduate research in Entomology may take place in a laboratory and/or in the field. You'll gain valuable experience with experimental design, research techniques, data analysis and interpretation and science communication. This is a non-thesis option intended for short-term research projects, which can be accomplished in one or two semesters. Your research project may also segue into a Research with Distinction project.
- ENTMLGY 4999 Research with Distinction: provides an opportunity for you to carry a research project under the guidance of a faculty mentor. Undergraduate research in Entomology may take place in a laboratory and/or in the field. You'll gain valuable experience with experimental design, research techniques, data analysis and interpretation and science communication. This option is intended for multi-semester projects and will require you to write a project thesis and present your research at a local or national conference. Successful completion of the thesis will result in research distinction being stated on your diploma.
There are several opportunities to present your research as an undergraduate. By presenting your research findings, you will develop important science communication skills for both general and specialized audiences, which can be broadly applied across fields. Entomology undergraduate students present a research project during our capstone course ENTMLGY 5604. Many present at regional and national meetings with the Entomological Society of America.
Additional opportunities to present your research can be found at Presentation Opportunities. These events are excellent opportunities to discover the breadth of research being performed by students across campus and engage in constructive conversations with students, faculty and staff from different areas of study.