Our NSF-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program is unique in that it offers first-year (or the equivalent) students attending the broad network of two-year colleges within commuting distance of UC San Diego an intensive and integrated early undergraduate research experience in the chemical sciences.  This first opportunity to participate in scientific discovery and knowledge generation is intended to sustain student’s interest in science, to help them develop new skills, understandings, and self-awareness, and ultimately, to enable their successful transition to a four-year university and eventually a science-related career.  The program spans a year, starting with an orientation to research in the late Spring. During the summer participants are fully immersed in a research project over ten weeks and participate in variety of community building as well as academic enrichment activities. Research, training, and mentoring extends into the next academic year, allowing REU Fellows to build on their summer apprenticeship. In this presentation we will describe the specific program design, early experience in implementation, and short-term outcomes, as captured by the Survey of Undergraduate Research Experiences (SURE) and feedback from faculty and graduate student mentors.

Chemistry connections for community college students (4Cs) at UC San Diego:  A NSF-REU program

251st National Meeting (2016)

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