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Undergraduate Research

Overview

The Roanoke College Pathways program seeks to improve student learning by enhancing the quality of experiential learning opportunities available to our students. The three essential elements of these quality enhancements are: Preparation and Planning, Ongoing Guided Reflection, and Post-Experience Public Showcasing (see Pathways-Undergraduate Research document for details). Under this program, students will be guided through the stages of planning a research experience, prompted to reflect critically throughout the research process, and articulate their learning through a public showcasing event and final reflection paper. Though not required, it is anticipated that these experiences will be awarded to students in their junior/senior year as this serves as a culminating experience within their major.

Award: $400 stipend for the faculty mentor and up to $500 for expenses related to the research.

Faculty Requirements

To receive Pathways support for an undergraduate research project, faculty must:

  1. Provide excellent mentorship to the student.
  2. Develop a learning agreement in consultation with your research student.
  3. Provide the framework and support for your student's ongoing guided reflection. This must include developing prompts as framed by the DEAL model and provide feedback on your student's reflections. This can be done orally during regular meetings or through writing as part of a journaling process.
  4. Guide your student through the final reflection process leading to the submission of a final reflection paper.
  5. Guide your student in the development of a poster or presentation prior to an on- or off-campus showcasing event. Please take advantage of the events we host in the library each semester.

Application Process

To apply for Pathways support, please complete this application form by August 14th for a project to be completed in the Fall semester (or for full-year projects) or January 6th for a project to be completed in Spring semester.

Award Recipients

Faculty who receive an award are required to turn in the following documents:

  • A short list of reflection prompts you plan to use to help guide your student's reflections.
  • An electronic copy of your student's final reflection paper in Word or PDF (not scanned PDFs).
  • An evaluation form at the end of the semester (form will be provided).

Detailed descriptions of each required element of a Pathways project can be found in the Pathways-Undergraduate Research document.

Have questions? Please contact:

Dr. Travis Carter
Director of Experiential Learning
experience@roanoke.edu
540-375-2483

Additional Ways to Support Undergraduate Research

In addition to Pathways support, undergraduate research is supported through a number of other programs:

For additional information on these programs, please contact:

Dr. Travis Carter
Director of Experiential Learning
experience@roanoke.edu
540-375-2483