REU Site: Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Animal Behavior

Indiana University, Bloomington IN

Investigators

Abstract

The Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Animal Behavior Site Grant enables promising undergraduate students to participate in laboratory or field research projects in animal behavior. Each year, the program awards internships to 10 students who experience firsthand the nature of the research process, the conduct of science in general, and the integrative study of animal behavior. To accomplish these goals, REU pays travel expenses, room & board, and a stipend so that interns can spend 10 weeks in the summer on the Bloomington campus or at a field site conducting research with scientists from Indiana University's Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior. Participation in the research project provides the main focus of the program, but interns also participate in research ethics workshops, attend lectures that introduce them to the integrative approach to studying animal behavior, and write up and orally present their research findings at a final REU Research Symposium. Interns also participate in social activities, field trips and activities that help them prepare for graduate school or other postgraduate training. An important objective of the REU in Animal Behavior program is to provide to students from groups traditionally underrepresented in science and from institutions with limited research opportunities access to cutting-edge research and membership in a research university community. It is expected that in the long term this program will help such students consider careers in animal behavior or related disciplines and increase their representation in science in general.