First Year Opportunities to Participate in Undergraduate Research
All science majors are required to complete a semester or more of undergraduate research sometime during their junior or senior year. In addition the Chemistry Department offers to students in the spring of their first year the opportunity to participate in research through the course titled "Introduction to Research." This one credit, three hour per week course is open to all General Chemistry students who have an interest in majoring in the physical sciences. This course provides students with the opportunity to work with individual faculty members on small research projects including topics such as computational chemistry, synthesis (organic and inorganic), instrumental analysis (using a laser raman spectrometer, GC-MS, or an LC-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometer among other insturmentation), protein crystalization, metabolomics, etc.
If you find research to your liking, we strongly encourage you to continue your studies in later semesters by signing up regularly for Chemistry 195/295 (Independent Study). In addition many of our students have honed their research skills through extra-curricular summer and semester opportunities.
Advanced Undergraduate Research Opportunites
There are many competitive Undergraduate Research opportunities available in the US and abroad. The majority of the programs pay as much as $3000-$4000 for an 8-10 week commitent (40 hours a week). Several links are provided below which should aid you in your search for summer undergraduate research opportunities. In general junior or senior status is a pre-requisite of many such programs (but not all, so do a thorough search!). You are strongly encouraged to discuss available opptions with your advisor or other faculty in the physical sciences.
As noted above, student involvement in research is not limited just to the summer. All departments offer research opportunities during the semester (in the form of Independent Study courses). In addition some opportunities exist for students to be involved in research at UNL and UNMC during the academic year. Please direct any questions you may have about ANY undergraduate research opportunities to a Department faculty member.
Finally note that many summer research application deadlines are early (Jan and Feb) in the spring semester, so do not delay your search! Most applications require 2 or 3 letters of recommendation and a short essay about your future career and acedemic goals, so start the application process well in advance of the deadlines. As always Faculty members are more than willing to help you with the application or search process.
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