Cultivating a Culture of Undergraduate Research at a Public Comprehensive University

Abstract

Winthrop University is a public comprehensive university of about 6000 students, 5000 of whom are undergraduates. The Department of Mathematics offers a baccalaureate degree in mathematics, but has no graduate degree programs. As late as 2009, there was essentially no undergraduate research in the department. At this time, faculty made efforts to cultivate a research program that would motivate faculty to pursue more scholarly opportunities and include undergraduates in their scholarship. These efforts began with in-house-sponsored summer programs that lasted a few weeks and grew over the subsequent 5 year period to several externally funded undergraduate research programs, including a National Science Foundation-sponsored Research Experience for Undergraduates program. In this paper, we discuss some lessons we learned in developing a culture of undergraduate research. We focus on the advantages and challenges of undergraduate research at primarily undergraduate universities, offer advice for starting or growing a research program, and provide resources for funding undergraduate research.