Center for Academic Enrichment and Outreach (CAEO) offers undergraduate students in UNLV’s Title III AANAPISI STEM and TRIO McNair Scholars Institute projects the opportunity to conduct research under the guidance of mentors from the UNLV faculty. Through the Spring Semester Research Experience (SSRE) and Summer Research Institute (SRI), these students receive hands-on training in the use of investigatory methods specific to their disciplines; develop and hone critical thinking, academic writing, and oral presentation skills; and make connections with researcher practitioners at UNLV, other colleges and universities, and other entities. Consequently, participation in SSRE and SRI helps students prepare for success in graduate studies and in careers related to their academic fields.

Spring Semester Research Experience

Administered through UNLV’s Center for Academic Enrichment and Outreach (CAEO), the Spring Semester Research Experience (SSRE) offers eligible undergraduates in UNLV’s Title III AANAPISI STEM projects the opportunity to conduct research under the guidance of a faculty mentor. The SSRE program, which lasts the entire Spring semester, consists of a series of training activities and assignments designed to help students gain a deeper understanding of the process of scholarly inquiry in their specific disciplines, as well as develop and refine critical-thinking, academic-writing, and oral-presentation skills.

Participant Expectations

All SSRE participants are required to:

  1. Attend training activities and complete assignments outlined in the SSRE Program Handbook
  2. Complete a one-page, structured abstract detailing the research conducted during the SSRE (download example abstracts); the structured abstract must be approved by the student’s faculty mentor
  3. Prepare a research poster to be presented at a future UNLV undergraduate research symposium (e.g., at the next CAEO Undergraduate Research Symposium)

Each SSRE participant who satisfactorily completes the above requirements by CAEO-established deadlines receives a stipend.

Eligibility

To be eligible for consideration to participate in the SSRE, applicants must:

  • Be active participants in UNLV’s Title III AANAPISI STEM
  • Have a cumulative postsecondary GPA of 2.75 or higher and
  • Be upperclassmen prior to start of SSRE.*

*Note: Sophomores who are exceptionally well-prepared to conduct undergraduate research are also eligible.

Application Process

Mentoring CAEO Undergraduate Researchers

Thank you for your interest in mentoring an undergraduate researcher from the UNLV Center for Academic Enrichment and Outreach (CAEO). Participants in one of CAEO’s campus-based, federally funded projects that serve students who are underrepresented in college (Title III AANAPISI STEM; or TRiO McNair Scholars Institute), CAEO undergraduate researchers typically develop their own projects, work with faculty on existing research projects, and/or contribute to the creation of new studies. Occurring during the spring semester and over the summer, CAEO undergraduate research activities facilitate partnerships between students and mentor professors, helping the students gain insight into research at UNLV, as well as advance faculty's research agendas.

Research Mentor

Research mentors are expected to:

  1. Meet regularly with their mentee students to discuss the students’ research projects
  2. Ensure that their mentee students receive proper guidance and supervision to successfully meet the outcomes described on the students’ approved Research Agreement Forms
  3. Review and approve research products (i.e., structured abstracts or manuscripts) developed by mentees

Faculty members receive a payment of $750 for each CAEO undergraduate researcher they mentor. This payment is deposited in an NSHE faculty research/lab account. Typically, funds are directed toward equipment and travel to support and enhance the research occurring during the project time period.

Eligibility Requirements

Persons who wish to become mentors to a CAEO undergraduate researcher must:

  • Be faculty members at an institution within the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE)
  • Hold terminal degrees in their respective disciplines
  • Have scholarly work published in academic journals and/or government reports

For more information about becoming a mentor to a CAEO undergraduate researcher, contact Terri Bernstein at terri.bernstein@unlv.edu or 702-895-4776.

Summer Research Institute

Administered through UNLV’s Center for Academic Enrichment and Outreach (CAEO), the Summer Research Institute (SRI) offers eligible undergraduates in UNLV’s Title III AANAPISI STEM and TRIO McNair Scholars Institute projects the opportunity to conduct research under the guidance of a faculty mentor. The SRI program--which occurs over 10 weeks each summer--provides students with faculty-supervised opportunities to be authors of or contributors to potentially publishable, original research in their specific disciplines.

Participant Expectations

All SRI participants are required to:

  1. Attend training activities and complete assignments in the SRI Program Handbook
  2. Complete a full manuscript detailing the research conducted during the SRI. The manuscript must be approved by the student’s faculty mentor and will be published in the AANAPISI and McNair Research Journal (non peer-reviewed)
  3. Prepare a research poster to be presented at the next CAEO Undergraduate Research Symposium

Each SRI participant who satisfactorily completes the above requirements by CAEO-established deadlines receives a stipend of $2,800.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for consideration to participate in the SRI, applicants must:

  • Be active participants in UNLV’s Title III AANAPISI STEM, or TRIO McNair project
  • Have a cumulative postsecondary grade point average of 3.0 or higher
  • Be upperclassmen prior to start of SRI.*

*Note: Sophomores who are exceptionally well-prepared to conduct undergraduate research are also eligible.

Application Process

Persons who wish to be considered for participation in SRI must complete the .