Willamette students aren't content simply memorizing other people's research findings - they want to make their own.
They do this by taking advantage of Willamette's many research opportunities, both on campus and off campus. Students of all departments and standings - even freshmen - can secure funded, self-driven research programs to complement their coursework.
For example, the Science Collaborative Research Program (SCRP), which serves up to 20 students and 10 instructors each summer, provides the opportunity to work shoulder-to-shoulder with a faculty member in completing any number of professional research goals. The program is comprehensive; along with providing the research time, it covers housing, travel and equipment costs, as well as an additional stipend of $3,450.
Our Carson Undergraduate Research Grant program, meanwhile, allows students to engage in a creative, scholarly or professional research project during the summer. About 10 grants of up to $3,000 each are available to Willamette students every year. Add this to the opportunities afforded by Willamette's office for Academic Grants and Awards, the Lilly Foundation Research Grant, the Presidential Scholarship program, and our Centers for Excellence, and it is clear that our students' options are limited only by their own creativity.
These experiences are more than resume builders. “My research experience was what put me in a position to get my Goldwater Scholarship,” says Ashley Smith, a 2004 chemistry graduate from Portland, Ore. “When I got to do the SCRP and the summer research project, I was able to see that I’d enjoy being a primary investigator in a lab.”
“I really enjoy the relationships I have with my professors,” says Carly Smith, a junior from Portland, Ore., who spent two summers synthesizing organic molecules as part of a National Science Foundation grant. “I feel like I can always ask questions when I need to, and I've gained a lot from those relationships. It makes you feel there's a real place for students on this campus.”
