Partnership for Undergraduate Research: Enhancing the Mathematics Curriculum (PUR)

University Of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Eau Claire WI

Investigators

Abstract

Partnership for Undergraduate Research: Enhancing the Mathematics Curriculum (PUR) will enhance and expand the undergraduate mathematics curriculum at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (UWEC) by creating a new comprehensive mathematics major focused on undergraduate research and graduate school preparatory courses. UWEC, a primarily undergraduate institution, will partner with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), a research institution and the most diverse institution in the University of Wisconsin System, to engage underrepresented students in mathematics research. The newly developed comprehensive major with research emphasis will incorporate formal instruction in research skills and ethics, training in writing and presentation skills, and a sustained undergraduate research experience. This curriculum redesign allows students to integrate research in progress toward their degrees. Simultaneously, it creates opportunities to recognize faculty mentorship of undergraduate research as a teaching activity. The investigators will encourage UW System universities and other institutions to adopt the UWEC and UWM partnership model in order to increase access of underrepresented groups to STEM careers and actively develop a more inclusive environment. In addition, this project serves as a model of a sustainable way to increase the number of undergraduates participating in collaborative research by incorporating research into the undergraduate curriculum. Undergraduate participants will learn how to successfully do research, building skills necessary for conducting original research and disseminating their results. These skills include presentation and writing, surveying papers to find background information, collaborating with others through peer mentoring, and initiating and maintaining a research program. Thus, the program will increase the mathematical knowledge and research skills of undergraduates, better preparing them for graduate school and a globally competitive STEM workforce.