CAHSI Local Research Experiences for Undergraduates (LREU) Program
Undergraduate research experiences are important for building students’ knowledge, skills, and abilities in the computing field. The CAHSI Local Research Experiences for Undergraduates (LREU) program engages students and faculty at their home institutions in impactful and meaningful research projects that develop solutions to real-world problems.
The CAHSI Local REU seeks to excite African-American/Black, Hispanic/Latinx, Native American (AHN) and female students about computing graduate studies and provide them with the research experiences critical for graduate studies. CAHSI institutions are working together to raise the low number and share of AHN and female students who enter and complete graduate programs in computing fields, which are among the least diverse science disciplines. Read more about why it is so urgent to broaden participation in computing on the CAHSI Literature page.
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Eligibility
- Commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in computing.
- Record in computing research that is aligned with CAHSI PhD-granting programs.
- Ability to mentor undergraduates with a growth mindset.
Expectations
- Incorporate Affinity Research Group (ARG) practices into student’s research experiences. ARG training will be provided.
- Work with the mentee to develop a research plan with clear milestones.
- Ensure that student’s weekly entries in their research journals are made.
- Provide a constructive review of mentee’s research journal and other deliverables.
- Review and critique student’s posters for submission upon completion of the LREU.
- Submit mid-term and final reports (templates will be provided).
- Work with CAHSI Backbone to populate a CAHSI Expertise profile.
Required Application Components
- Completed Application
- Contribution to Diversity Statement
- CV
- Overview of proposed LREU project
Eligibility
- Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
- Must be enrolled in a computing program at a CAHSI institution
- Must not be employed for more than 10 hours per week in any other position while in the LREU program
- Must have completed Advanced Data Structures
Students with no previous research experience are encouraged to apply. Although a GPA of 2.8 is recommended for the program, GPA is not always a predictor of the student’s ability to succeed in the program. Students with a GPA below 2.8 are encouraged to submit a personal statement describing any extenuating circumstances that may have impacted the students’ academic performance.
In alignment with the CAHSI’s project goals, we are committed to selecting African-American/Black, Hispanic/Latinx, and Native American/Alaskan natives (AHN) and female students for the CAHSI Local REU program.
Expectations
- Conduct research for the full length of the LREU (10-14 weeks determined at the start of the REU) and commit to work the number of hours agreed upon (10-20 hours). The mentee and the mentor should be flexible regarding work hours to accommodate the student’s course workload with the intention that the student will have met the hours required by the end of the LREU. Workload expectations must be articulated at the beginning of the LREU.
- Attend weekly meetings with assigned faculty mentor.
- Engage in professional development activities, hosted by CAHSI or faculty mentor. For example, creating an elevator pitch, submitting probing questions, or attending a GRFP workshop.
- Make weekly entries in a research journal.
- Prepare and submit a research poster. The poster will go through several iterations of feedback and edits.
- Present the research poster at the GMiS Conference if the student is still enrolled during the semester when the conference is held (fall semester).
Application Documents
- Completed Application Form
- Professional Résumé
- Unofficial Transcript
- Student Statement
Summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU): REU is short for “Research Experiences for Undergraduates” and is a program sponsored by the National Science Foundation. REUs create opportunities for undergraduate students to take part in authentic research activities over a focused period of effort (often in the summer) and allow students to be exposed to the practice of science, engineering and computing, receive mentorship, and build professional networks. As an REU participant, you will be placed in a cohort of other students (usually around 10), but work directly with a committed faculty member who will help you to ask questions, develop a research plan, and discover new knowledge! Students receive stipends and, in many cases, assistance with housing and travel.
If you are curious about the world around you, starting to think about graduate school, and willing to work hard, then you should definitely consider taking part in a REU! REUs are for everyone, so if you are interested apply!
Below is a compilation of CAHSI-led summer REU opportunities:
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant HRD-1834620 and No. 1551221. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.