McNair Scholars present research today
Students in the McNair Scholars Program will present research projects in a symposium at 1 p.m. today in the Charles V. Park Library.
Many scholars can present their personal research at conferences, giving them a step above students advancing directly into graduate school.
Warren senior Caitlin Demsky said she wanted to improve the setting of the workplace with her research.
“What I was trying to figure out was characteristics of the workplace, such as anxiety and depression, that might lead to mental illness,” Demsky said. “I was looking at it from a specifically evolutionary view. I completed a survey for workers to take and sent it to 2,100 CMU alumni.”
The McNair Program focuses on students demonstrating their research with the help of a faculty member, who works as their mentor. The scholars are taught groundwork for their futures in graduate school and are given the chance to travel and receive financial aid, said Lynn Curry, director of the McNair Scholars Program.
According to the McNair Scholars Web site, the three main portions of the program are to attend a research writing seminar in the spring, participate in the Summer Research Institute and present research and complete graduate school applications in the fall.
“Students gain confidence in themselves,” Curry said. “This program is important to students who fit the criteria because we can help them get a step up and understand that through hard work and motivation, they can achieve a Ph.D.”
Other projects
Other projects presented will include Monstrosity in Horror Literature, A Search for Non-invasive Methods: Determining Age At Death and Comparing Intra-racial and Inter-racial Dialogue: A Qualitative Approach, among others.
Students also feel they are more confident in entering graduate school after completing the program.
“Getting a Ph.D. is a very important educational goal to have,” Demsky said. “McNair is a wonderful, amazing resource to get students to graduate school and gives them a step up on the competition.”
The program, established at CMU in 1999, benefits students interested in many different fields of study and promotes educating students on research work and preparing them for graduate school.
“The program is an awesome opportunity to gain research experience and meet scholars and students who have the same interests in going to graduate school,” said Detroit Senior Kayana Sanders.
Sanders, who focused on multicultural environment in the psychology department, agrees.
“I have a lot of confidence in what I want to do and who I am as a person,” Sanders said. “I have grown tremendously since last October. Through the McNair Program, my confidence has also grown and I am able to say that proudly.”
Interested?
The program is taking applications for the 2010 cohorts. For more information on the McNair Scholars Program, attend the Research Symposium or visit the Web site, mcnair.cmich.edu.
“We work with low income and first generation college students and underrepresented students and prepare them to pursue Ph.D.’s,” Curry said.
