REU Site: An Invitation to Basic and Applied Science of Psychology: Research Experiences for Undergraduates at Baruch College - CUNY

Cuny Baruch College, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

Intellectual Merit The REU site at Baruch College offers advanced research training to undergraduate students who attend Baruch College and other educational institutions in the New York metropolitan area. Each REU student conducts independent research under the supervision of an REU faculty member working in an area that matches the student's expressed interests (e.g., social psychology, industrial/organizational psychology, developmental psychology, psychometrics, and sleep), as well as joining that faculty member's research team. Each student focuses on one area of psychology, planning and executing studies with the intention of presenting papers at professional conferences and submitting manuscripts to quality peer-reviewed journals. The REU students review the literature and develop research questions and hypotheses that are grounded in the literature. They design research projects to gather data that address the empirical questions. The REU students execute the research protocols that they develop. Students learn the value of statistical analyses and become comfortable with the use of computer programs for describing and drawing inferences from data. Students also gain experiences in the art of research dissemination and presentation. The results of this research are presented at the Baruch REU conference and potentially at national conferences and peer-reviewed journals. REU students complete a series of structured learning activities aimed at preparing them to be involved in all stages of psychological research and apply to graduate school. Broader Impacts Statistics from the NSF and the American Psychological Association indicate continual under-representation of African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and individuals with disabilities in the field of psychology. This program is designed to increase the representation of minority, low-income, first generation college students, and disabled students in scientific psychology. Specifically, the program does the following: 1) prepare students for advanced graduate training in psychology and ultimately for careers in academic settings, 2) identify early promising minority, disabled, and economically disadvantaged students throughout the New York metropolitan area and prepare them for careers in scientific psychology, 3) increase psychological scientists exposure to cultural and minority issues in psychological research, and 4) develop a pipeline to provide a pool of talented and diverse undergraduate students to become the research scientists of the future. In summary, this REU Site program serves as a model for offering research experiences to undergraduate students from underrepresented groups attending urban universities and colleges.