Undergraduate Research
By delving into the worlds of research and creative activity, undergraduate students in the College of Arts and Letters learn about information gathering, problem solving, and the presentation of results. Involvement in research and creative activities prepares students for graduate school and enhances professional opportunities.
The College of Arts and Letters Undergraduate Research Initiative (URI) is currently funding intensive research experiences for more than 30 undergraduate students. Students are paired with faculty mentors and participate in the faculty mentors' research work. Projects range from creating digital facsimiles of medieval manuscripts, serving as an editorial assistant for a scholarly journal, and studying Holocaust survivor testimonies to investigations of how students learn online and how the barriers presented to disabled people by clothing design might be overcome.
Examples of Undergraduate Research in the Arts and Humanities
Andrew Sewick
(Spanish), "Discourse and Embedding
in Spanish"
Emily M. Tobin (English), "The Tokyo Ibunkitan"
Donnamarie Hall
(Interdisciplinary Humanities), "Color
Blind or Color Bound: Understanding
the Relational Dynamics Within the
Community of Black Females in Regard
to Skin Color Variations"
Linda Jane
Cook (English), "Mean Reds and
Melancholy Expressed in Samuel Taylor
Coleridge’s Poetry"
Leah Karchin (Art
Education), "An Exploration in How
Guided Developmental Stages Make Better
Three-Dimensional and Two-Dimensional
Artists"
Katherine Lewis (English), "The
Iconography of Melancholia"
Maria
Mattson (Art Education), "Preconceived
Notions in Representational Drawing and
Art as Learned vs. an Inherent Ability"
Mary Elizabeth Huttlin (Music Education), "Labor of Love: Investing in the Art of
Bharatanatyam Dance"
Marissa A. Hayes
(Professional Writing), "The Changing
Faces of Feminism; The ‘Women’ Behind
the Brands"
Adam Treadwell (Professional
Writing), "Online Social Networks and
Their Shaping of Identity Representation"
Elaina Marie Swartlander (Spanish, Audiology and Speech Sciences), "Exceeding
Expectations: Early Development of
Liquid Consonants in Young African-American Speakers"
Mikhila Humbad
(Specialization in Women, Gender, and
Social Justice), "Dangers of the 'Model
Minority' Myth: How Positive Stereotypes
and Acculturation Can Affect Asian
Americans’ Test Performance"
Kristen
Schalm (English), "Living in Fear of the
Test: Accountability Measures Under No
Child Left Behind"
How to Get Involved
Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities
MSU offers a number of options that engage students in research early in their education.
Students can participate in original investigation, experimentation, and publication/presentation across many fields of study, working with a faculty mentor or in faculty-led teams.
University Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum (UURAF)
The UURAF provides an opportunity for undergraduate researchers to present their work in the form of a poster or oral presentation, or to showcase their creative work. Undergraduates from all MSU colleges who are engaged in original work are encouraged to participate. The 2007 UURAF will be held on April 13 in the MSU Union Building; the deadline for applying to participate is March 2.
Undergraduate Research Opportunities in the Department of Philosophy