For more information please contact: Dr. Limin Kung

General
You have accessed the Undergraduate Research site for the Department of Animal and Food Sciences. This site will have information for students that are interested in conducting undergraduate research. Conducting research can be extremely rewarding for those that seek other learning experiences. However, students should realize the serious nature of any commitment they make to a faculty member in this regard.

This site does not cover Field Experiences or Internship programs. More information on these programs may be obtained from the department main office (Townsend Hall 044)

Programs
Students can become involved in undergraduate research via 1) informal or 2) formal programs (see below).

1) Informal programs. Students may participate in research programs at any time if they have identified a faculty member who is willing to accept him/her into their lab. Not all faculty members participate in this program (see Research Faculty below). 

Volunteer: A student must identify a faculty member willing to accept them into their lab. Student and faculty should agree upon regular hours and set goals for the experience.

Credit: A student must identify a faculty member willing to accept them into their lab. A student usually registers for 1 to 3 credits via ANSC 266 or 366 with a particular faculty’s section number. Students and faculty must create a clear plan of action acceptable by the student and faculty that describes the student’s responsibilities for receiving credit. Student and faculty should agree upon regular hours for conducting research.

Salary: Some students may conduct research in a lab for a salary or stipend. Students must identify a faculty member willing to accept them into their lab under these conditions. Student and faculty should agree upon regular hours, salary, and set goals for the experience.

Combination: Some students may negotiate with faculty to participate in a research program that combines working as a volunteer, for salary, or for credit. For example, in one instance a faculty member may be willing to pay a student for a maximum of 10 hours of laboratory research only after that person has fulfilled 10 hours of volunteer work. Another example might be a student that registers for 3 credits of research (ANSC 366) and agrees with the faculty member that these credits will be obtained for 15 hours of lab time; any hours after that might be for a salary. Students and faculty should agree upon regular hours, salary, and set goals for the experience.

2) Formal programs. Students may participate in research programs via the Science & Engineering Scholars Program (SESP) or the Howard Hughes Undergraduate Research Scholars, Peter White Undergraduate Research Scholars, and Life Science Undergraduate Research Scholars (HHUR-PWURS-LSURS). (See Research Faculty below for open positions.)

SESP. Only students that are in their sophomore year and entering the summer prior to junior year are eligible for this program. Students who participate in this program must identify a willing faculty sponsor (within the Department of Animal & Food Sciences) who will accept them into their labs to conduct research. 

Students will increase their chances of participating in this program if they can identify a faculty member willing to sponsor and mentor them for the summer before the applications are due (usually March 1). Students that have done this, should note on their application the name of the specific faculty member that they plan to work with and must indicate that the faculty member has agreed to sponsor that student.

If an Animal Science student is interested in participating in the SESP in another department, e.g. Entomology or Biology, that student must make arrangements and identify a willing faculty member in that department who will accept them in their labs to conduct research. In such cases, funding for the student comes from the department that the faculty member is associated with. Note that most faculty members within a department will give first priority to their own majors.

More information on the SESP may be found in the
Science and Engineering Scholars Handbook

HHUR-PWURS-LSURS. Open to juniors with the stipulation that research is in the human biomedical area. Thus, this program is not usually open to Animal Science students unless a student can find a willing faculty sponsor in Biology, Chemistry, etc. Click here for more information.
 

Research Faculty
Students are encouraged to contact any faculty member(s).