Research Opportunities

Summer Research Programs

This page lists all the Research Opportunities for Pre-Med Students At Southern Wesleyan.

While SWU does not have a formally organized “Research Experience for Undergraduates”, there are ways for SWU students to get involved in research projects here at SWU each summer. Students who want to get involved in research simply need to talk to their academic advisor to discuss the type of research in which they would like to participate. The academic advisor can then direct the student to a faculty member that has expertise or experience in that area or related areas. A project can be developed in late fall/early spring of the academic year preceding the summer that students would like to complete the project. Funding for such projects is available through the Honors Program (if the student qualifies for the Honors Program…link the Honors program website here) or through a variety of small competitive grants. The South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (SCICU) is a consortium of the private institutions in SC that award grants to undergraduate students at their member institutions (SWU is a member) for up to $3000. Some of that grant money can be used to buy equipment and supplies needed for the project while most of it can be used to pay the student for summer research work hours (at a rate of $8.00/hour). Sigma Xi (link their website here), a research honors society, also offers grants for up to $1000 for undergraduate student research.

Testimonials

Chandra Walls, 2010 Graduate

This past summer I was able to attend a 9-week Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program on the Mind and Brain at Colorado State University. I was able to create my own research project from start to finish. My mentor and his assistant helped me at every step in the process, teaching me everything I should know about designing a credible research project. I am so thankful for the opportunity I had to learn from leading researchers in the field of memory.

Brian Daniels, 2010 Graduate

My summer research experience was dedicated to the lab work I needed to do for my honors thesis. As a member of the honors program, I had been equipped to design a research project, and the summer represented a time when I could focus my time and energy on my project without the distractions of classes and other work commitments. To make the summer happen, I applied for an undergraduate research grant from the SCICU. This involved outlining the work I proposed to do, proposing a budget, and defending the projects value, both to the field in which I was working and to me as a student researcher. I was elated to find out in April that my grant had been funded, and that I would be paid to spend the summer at SWU, working on a research project I had personally designed!

That summer was amazing and transformative. Working through all the roadblocks that can come up during research can be frustrating, but, when all was said and done, I felt an incredible sense of accomplishment. The experience also proved to be invaluable as I began to apply to graduate school. At my interview weekends, I met some incredibly intelligent and talented fellow candidates, all of whom had significant research experience as undergraduates. Faculty, too, were very interested in my work; discussion of my exposure to research was a significant portion of every one of my interviews. Ultimately, I know my research experience was essential to my getting into a top-10 PhD program in my field, and the skills I picked up during my undergraduate experience are immensely helpful now that Im a graduate student working on more advanced research projects.

Research at SWU

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