Welcome to the University of Tennessee’s (UT) Undergraduate Summer Research Education Experiences in the Environmental Health Sciences. This ten-week research training program will place undergraduate students from across the U.S. in laboratories on our campus for intensive hands-on participation in investigational research activities. Our faculty mentors will challenge you to learn advanced laboratory techniques and have you work on state-of-the-art instrumentation that will shape your research skills and prepare you for graduate school and the high-technology Research & Development biomedical workforce. With numerous social activities included, we will also ensure that you have a fun and enjoyable summer.
When students arrive on campus, they will move into UT dormitory living/learning centers that will house students from this program as well as numerous other undergraduate research programs that occur on our campus each summer session. During the first week, students will meet their research mentors and settle themselves in their home laboratories to begin their independent research projects. Well before you arrive, we will provide you with information on the types of research your mentor’s lab performs to ensure that you are up to speed with the terminology and techniques unique to each lab’s environmental health focus. The vast majority of your time will be spent in the lab, but we will complement your research activities with weekly workshops designed to shape you as a scientist. These workshops will include such topics as hypothesis development and testing, experimental design, data analysis, statistics, research ethics, career development, expectations of graduate school, entrepreneurship, and effective scientific communication. As your summer winds down, you will have the opportunity to present your research project in a university-wide scientific poster session where you will interact with and relate your research to fellow students, scientists, and the general public.
Throughout your stay we will provide numerous opportunities for you to attend social events and participate in excursions in and around the City of Knoxville. From music festivals to whitewater rafting to hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, we will keep you entertained all summer long.
Logistics and Expectations for Participating Students
The intent of our summer research program is to enrich you as a scientist. As such, if you are selected for our program, you must commit to being present for the full ten weeks of its duration. Between laboratory research, workshops, and social activities, your summer is going to be busy and we need you to be here in order to achieve all of your and our goals. Expect to be challenged and intellectually inspired (while having fun).
Dormitory housing is provided for you at no cost. You will not be allowed to make your own housing arrangements. Dormitories contain kitchens for preparation of your own meals, cafeterias for prepared meals, and many restaurants are within walking distance.
Round trip airfare travel costs from your home destination to/from Knoxville, TN are included. If you live close to Knoxville and wish to drive, your mileage costs will be similarly reimbursed.
All students will receive a stipend of $3,700 to assist with any costs not covered by our program.
Once accepted to our research program, additional details will be provided to ensure that you have everything you need to make your transition to the UT campus seamless.
Our research program is highly focused on promoting diversity within the national biomedical research sciences workforce. Undergraduate students from underrepresented groups (Women, Blacks or African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, American Indians or Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders) and students with disabilities, students of low economic status, students who are first-generation college students, and students from rural or inner-city environments that demonstrably inhibit opportunities toward obtaining the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to develop and participate in a research career, are all very much encouraged to apply.
We greatly look forward to welcoming you to the University of Tennessee!
