REU Site: Undergraduate Research in Basic and Applied Science of Psychology

Cuny Baruch College, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

This project is funded from the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Sites program in the Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE). It has both scientific and societal benefits in addition to integrating research and education. The REU site at Baruch College offers advanced research training in psychological science to undergraduate students who attend Baruch College, Colleges within the City University of New York, or other educational institutions in the New York metropolitan area. Baruch College and CUNY in general boast a diverse student body. Although the recruitment is open to any NSF eligible undergraduate students, 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 plans to (a) identify early promising minority, disabled, and economically disadvantaged students in the New York metropolitan area, (b) prepare REU students for advanced graduate training in psychology and ultimately for careers in academic settings, (c) develop a pipeline to provide a pool of talented and diverse undergraduate students to become the research scientists of the future, and (d) increase psychological scientists exposure to cultural and minority issues in psychological research. REU Students in the program conduct independent research under the supervision of their respective REU faculty member in one of the four areas of psychology (i.e., clinical, developmental, industrial/organizational, and social). Each student focuses on planning and executing studies with the intention of presenting papers at professional conferences and submitting manuscripts to peer-reviewed journals. Specifically, REU students develop research questions and hypotheses that are grounded in the literature. In order to answer these newly developed research questions and hypotheses, REU students design research protocols and plan data collection. REU students learn via hands-on experience the value of statistical analysis, use of statistical software to draw inferences about the data, and presentation skills to disseminate the findings gained in their research. Alongside with the conduct of their research projects, REU students complete a series of structured activities aimed at preparing them to apply to graduate school. These activities, such as attending professional development seminars and workshops, participating at colloquium in the field of psychology, listening to invited guest speakers from graduate program admission officers, are coordinated by the Baruch College REU program. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.