Student Research Opportunities & Resources
Do you want to get involved in research at WCU? Click this video link to find out
how
2024 SRCA Student Award Winners
Undergraduate Recipients
Alexa Cesari
Pre Medicine
Rajal Vyas
Biomedical Engineering
Everett Frey
Theory, History, and Composition
Elijah McBride
Theatre Arts
Hannah Linkowsky
Early and Middle Grades
Abigail Boquist
Secondary Education and K-12 Health and Physical Education
Graduate Recipients
Maitiya Meadows
Public Health
Naya Weeks
Public Health
Erika Lucas
Educational Leadership and Higher Education Administration
Haley Fry
Educational Leadership and Higher Education Administration
Suzanne Fanelle
Educational Leadership and Higher Education Administration
Michelle Fisher
Educational Leadership and Higher Education Administration
Sara Mohler
Literacy
SURI 2024 Recipients
Eric Budu
Biomedical Engineering
Emma Carpenter
Nutrition and Dietetics
Amanda Cohan
Biology
Alexander Conzaman
Communication Sciences and Disorders
Gabrielle Curtis
Sports Medicine
Dominick DeStefano
Music Theory and Composition
Tobias Dugger
Chemistry
Angel Flowers
Physics and Engineering
Garrett Fong
Biology
Sage Forsythe
Biology
Ava Hawthorne
Biomedical Engineering
Sarah Heinrichs
Chemistry
Lee Irvine
Political Science
Brianna Landwersiek
Biomedical Engineering
Chance Macariola
Physics and Engineering
Sasha Mochocki
Biology
Chris Needham
Biomedical Engineering
Carolynn Odonnell
Biology
Gianna Parrish
Cell & Molecular Biology
Josh Pitts
Biomedical Engineering
Elizabeth Sawaked
Chemistry
Kevin Thoman
Secondary Education
Liam Turnage
Studio Composition
Tyler Vidal
Chemistry
Connor Walker
Geography and Planning
Abigail Walton
Instrumental Performance
Elizabeth Weaver
Music Education and Therapy
Abigail Weinstein
Chemistry
SURF Spring 2025 Recipients
Eneida Vega
Sciences and Mathematics
Casey Russoman
School of Music
Roger Cabrera
Health Sciences
Geoffrey Martin
Arts and Humanities
Emily Close
Business and Management
Alyssa McClintock
Sciences and Mathematics
Khaleelah Ahmad
University College
Chloe Feder
Arts and Humanities
Kaitlyn Horn
Health Sciences
Lilah Rathman
Sciences and Mathematics
Amanda Cohan
Sciences and Mathematics
Alexis Stakem
Arts and Humanities
Jeremy Ruspantine
Education and Social Services
Emma Carpenter
Health Sciences
Nikoloz Mosashvili
Sciences and Mathematics
Eliza Mathias
Health Sciences
Amirah Morris
Business and Management
Chloe Mattie
Sciences and Mathematics
Samantha Cundiff
School of Music
K.C. Thoman
Education and Social Services
Matthew Leardi
Arts and Humanities
Kaitlyn Hand
Sciences and Mathematics
Danielle Cabibbo
Education and Social Services
Hannah Mathur
University College
Amanda Hopkins
Education and Social Services
Amber Riley
Health Sciences
Daniel Kenney
Education and Social Services
Miles Cressley
School of Music
Research and Creative Activity Day
The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs will host its annual Research & Creative Activity Day (RCAD) on Friday, April 4, 2025 from 9:30AM – 3:00PM in Sykes Ballrooms. This event highlights student, faculty, and administrator research from all academic disciplines across our campus community. We hope you will be able to join us!
To submit an application, please use the following link: RCAD Application. Applications are due on February 27, 2025. Notification of acceptance will be sent on March 5, 2025. Students will need to identify a faculty mentor to apply.
Summer Undergraduate Research Institute (SURI)
West Chester University invites applications for our Summer 2025 Undergraduate Research Institute (SURI), which will run for 5 weeks from May 27, 2025 – June 27, 2025. Students who are chosen to participate in the program will receive a research stipend of $2500. To be eligible, students must be a WCU undergraduate student who will remain enrolled at the university through the completion of their project and be able to allocate 37.5 hours/week to the program throughout its five-week duration.
To apply, students should confer with their faculty mentor and complete the SURI STUDENT portion of the application through the following link: SURI 2025 Application by March 6, 2025. Once students add their faculty mentor’s email address to the application (through InfoReady), the faculty mentor will receive a notification to complete their portion by the same due date.
Please note: Faculty should review program expectations prior to agreeing to serve as a program advisor. Students should review all expectations prior to submitting their application.
Student Research and Creative Activity (SRCA)
West Chester University invites applications for our Spring 2025 Student Research and Creative Activity (SRCA) Awards. The purpose of the SRCA is to recognize outstanding graduate and undergraduate students who have completed original research or creative projects in collaboration with a faculty mentor. Each SRCA application must be sponsored by a faculty mentor who has read and approved the application. SRCA awards are presented to students who have conducted independent work that is original and substantive, given the standards and objectives of their field. Students must be enrolled at WCU during the Spring 2025 semester to be eligible to apply.
In order to apply, students will submit their application. Within the application, they will add their faculty mentor information, and the faculty mentor will then receive an email to complete their portion of the application. Both parts of the application are due on February 6th, 2025, by 5:00 PM.
Student Undergraduate Research Foundations (SURF)
West Chester University invites applications for our 2025 Spring West Chester Student Undergraduate Research Foundations (previously WCU Undergraduate Creative Activity and Research Experience WCU-CARES). The purpose of WCU-SURF is to:
- Increase the interest in and opportunities for undergraduate research or creative activity in all disciplines.
- Promote scholarly collaboration between students and faculty.
- Promote critical thinking and prepare students for careers and graduate studies.
All WCU students who will be enrolled as undergraduates during the Spring semester of 2025 may apply. These projects must be carried out during the Spring of 2025, under the mentorship of a WCU faculty member.
FUNDINGUp to 20 undergraduate applicants will be chosen to receive a $500 stipend to work on research and creative activity projects under the mentorship of a WCU faculty member for 5 hours/week for ten weeks during the Spring semester of 2025.
The Compost Research & Education Foundation (CREF)
Call for Proposals: February 2025
The Compost Research & Education Foundation (CREF) is offering scholarships to undergraduate through PhD students, studying at a college or university in the US, interested in doing a compost-related research project. The scholarship is for $4,000, and also includes an invitation to present research findings at a US Composting Council Annual Conference during a CREF research session.
The goal of this scholarship is to bring assistance to students doing compost-related research and to spark interest in future careers in the composting industry.
Experiential Learning Survey
All enrolled students were asked to participate in an Experiential Learning Survey & were asked this question:
"Looking back, what was the highlight of your experiential learning – what impacted you the most?"
Here are some of their responses:
- “How research is a vital key in our lives and studies.”
- “Having a close relationship with faculty that allowed me to learn firsthand how to conduct research at the graduate level.”
- “I learn most when doing hands on activities, this research experience has taught me so much because I am actually collecting and analyzing data on my own. As a person who wants to go into research in the future, this is a very important skill to have. Learning this in a class is one thing, but actually doing a project of my own (with guidance from my advisor) has helped me develop these skills in a unique way.”
- “I enjoy being able to participate in research that relates to my passions.”
- “I believe engaging in research with my professor help shaped who I am. They have pushed me past my boundaries to make me stronger in my field. From that experience, I feel like I have created a direct career goal and passion.”
- “Research impacted me the most. I have mentors and peers who share the same interests and bringing academia to life was a life-changing opportunity.”
Ramifications Publication
Ramifications is a student-run, peer-reviewed, open-access undergraduate journal published through the Council for Undergraduate Research at West Chester University. Ramifications publishes journal articles documenting research and creative activities completed by undergraduate students. West Chester University, part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, believes in the importance of student scholarship as an outgrowth of student learning, Ramifications is an expression of that learning.
Current Issue: Volume 3, Issue 1 (2023) Fall 2023
Intersections of Violence Against Immigrant Women on the United States-Mexico Border
Addressing Discrimination at West Chester University: A Battle at all Levels
Student Research Picture Gallery