The Value of Undergraduate Research:

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Learning Through Research
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Council on Undergraduate Research

• A national organization of individual ( 5500)
  and institutional members (gt 560) representing
  all disciplines and over 900 institutions of all
  types
• Nine disciplinary divisions Arts Humanities,
  Biology, Chemistry, Geo-sciences, Health
  Sciences, Mathematics Computer Science, Physics
  Astronomy, Psychology, Social Sciences
• Two multidisciplinary divisions At-Large and
  Under-graduate Research Program Directors
• National office in Washington, D.C.

The mission of the Council on Undergraduate
Research is to support and promote high-quality
undergraduate student-faculty collaborative
research and scholarship.
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Undergraduate research (scholarship and creative
activity) is an inquiry or investigation
conducted by an undergraduate in collaboration
with a faculty mentor that makes an original
intellectual or creative contribution to the
discipline. 
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Undergraduate Research as an Effective
Pedagogical Tool

• Greater gains in learning science/math/logic,
  problem solving, literature/language/context
  mastery, and personal initiative and
  communication skills
• Increased connection to and retention within the
  major
• Stronger enrollment in graduate education
• Increased employment in major-related fields
• Greater participation in other intellectual
  opportunities on campus
• Overcoming traditional boundaries for women,
  students of color, and first-generation students

Learning through Research
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Benefiting Students

• Advancing cognitive and intellectual growth
• Gains in knowledge and skills
• Academic achievement and educational attainment
• Fostering professional growth and advancement
• Promoting personal
• growth

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Benefiting Faculty

• Enhancing mentoring and teaching
• Achieve research, scholarly and creative outcomes
• Integrating scholarship and teaching
• Increasing job satisfaction and personal
  development

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Benefiting Institutions

•    Building a community
• of scholars
•    Deepening relationships
• with alumni
•    Fostering innovation and cross talk
•    Sharing a sense of purpose and achievement
•    Enhancing an institutions curriculum
•    Providing opportunities to engage with the
  local
• community

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CURs Focus Faculty DevelopmentPromoting and
supporting undergraduate student-faculty
collaborative research and scholarship
MEETINGS National Conference CUR
Dialogues Institutes Posters on the Hill Regional
Workshops on Institutional Undergraduate Research
SERVICES Departmental Reviews Mentor Network CUR
Fellows Awards CUR List-serve Undergraduate
Researchers Graduate School Registry
PUBLICATIONS CUR Quarterly How To Series
Specialized Volumes
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Recent Publications
Science in Solution The Impact of Undergraduate
Research on Student Learning By David Lopatto
Reading, Writing, Research Undergraduate
Students as Scholars in Literary Studies Edited
by Laura L. Behling
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Posters on the Hill
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• Council on Undergraduate Research
• 734 15th Street NW, Suite 550
• Washington, DC, 20005
• [phone]
• http//www.cur.org
• Nancy_at_cur.org