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. 

Learn more about Research and Creative Activity Day

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)

             ARE YOU INTERESTED IN A PAID RESEARCH             & CREATIVE ACTIVITIES OPPORTUNITY?             Check this out!             Student             Undergraduate Research             Foundations             (SURF)             MY             MILY             ORSP             OF RESEARCH             SPONSORED             Student awardees will receive a $500 stipend to conduct research and/or creative             activity projects for 5 hours/week for ten weeks during the Spring semester of 2025 alongside a faculty mentor.             Please note:             - All WCU students who will be enrolled as Undergraduate Students during the Spring semester of 2025 are eligible to apply.             - Projects must be under the mentorship of a WCU faculty member.             - Are you interested in research/creative activities but do not have a research mentor? Click the RAM Research Directory link in our bio. This tool will show you potential research mentors and give you their contact information.             - All applications are due by 5:00pm Thursday, November 7th, 2024.             THE OFFICE OF RESEARCH & SPONSORED PROGRAMS             WCU             WEST CHESTER UNIVERSITY

OVERVIEW

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.
ELIGIBILITY

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.

FUNDING

Up 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.

SURF 2025 Application

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.

Learn more about the scholarship requirements and to apply.

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

Goats Die, Butterflies Fly: Portrayals of Dominican Dictator Rafael Trujillo (1891–1961) in Historical Fiction and Non-Fiction

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

 

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