GETTING STARTED IN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
The Freshman Research Scholars program at Oklahoma State University provides an opportunity for approximately sixty bright, ambitious students to extend their education beyond the classroom by engaging in cutting-edge research under the guidance of innovative faculty researchers.
OSU understands that students who graduate without research experience have not taken full advantage of all that a comprehensive research university has to offer, so OSU leads the way in supporting undergraduate research in all fields of study.
By elevating their education with real hands-on research experience students in FRS can distinguish themselves as leaders capable of contributing to the scholarly community in ways that coursework alone cannot.
Such discovery learning complements a well-rounded course load by providing the critical opportunity to apply fundamental skills.
Connections made through the Freshman Research Scholars Program often lead to rewarding long-term relationships with like-minded students and faculty.
PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
Fall Semester
- Learn basic research ethics and methodology in a college-specific orientation course taught by tenured faculty researchers
- Identify mentors in your field of study to guide you in the pursuit of your research interests
Spring Semester
- Implement the research plan developed in the fall under the guidance of your mentor
- Share the results of your research in a peer-level colloquium at the end of the semester
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH BEYOND THE FIRST YEAR
Participants in FRS are uniquely prepared to take advantage of OSU’s extensive research opportunities for undergraduates. Each year approximately sixty of OSU’s most innovative scholars are awarded $4,500 Lew Wentz Research Grants to conduct projects of their own design.
Additionally, several other awards, such as the Niblack Research Scholars, are granted to students in selected fields of study, making OSU a vibrant research community for undergraduates.
Many of the students who participate in these programs continue to pursue successful careers in academia with placement in top research institutions, while others choose to take their experience into the private sector.
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FRESHMAN RESEARCH SCHOLARS PROGRAM RECEIVES STATE RECOGNITION
Friday, 20 April 2012
Tim O’Neil, graduate assistant in the Henry Bellmon Office of Scholar Development and Recognition, recently accepted the Recognition of Excellence award from the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. The award was presented to OSU for its Freshman Research Scholars program.
Oklahoma State University has taken a leadership role nationally in freshman research and the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education recently recognized those efforts.
“The award confirms what I have known all along—that OSU’s innovative faculty and administrators have, for several decades, fostered the most welcoming, vibrant research community for undergraduates in the state,” O’Neil said.
Glen D. Johnson, Chancellor of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, presented the award to O’Neil at the state regents annual Promoting Undergraduate Research Conference on April 13.
FRESHMAN RESEARCH SCHOLARS FEATURED IN THE DAILY OKLAHOMAN
By Silas Allen | Published: May 5, 2012
STILLWATER — While many of her fellow students are in class, Lauren Foley spends hours in a lab, working with prairie voles. That’s been the case, more or less, since Foley came to Oklahoma State University last year.
Foley, now a sophomore, participated in an OSU program that allows students to take part in meaningful research during their freshman year.
“To me, it was just a good opportunity to get outside the classroom,” Foley said.Foley, a zoology major, was a part of Freshman Research Scholars, an OSU program that gives about 60 first-year students per year the opportunity to take part in research on campus.
In addition to their regular coursework, those students may either work with faculty researchers on a project that’s already under way, or raise a question of their own and, under faculty supervision, develop a study to answer that question.