NSF REU Program

The Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) is a program funded by the National Science Foundation to offer undergraduates from Charlotte colleges and universities the opportunity to work on a yearlong internship housed in a cognitive science research laboratory on the campus of UNC Charlotte.  Each year eleven undergraduate students will work on a research project under the supervision of a faculty mentor, and participate in a seminar and group activities that support the development of the students’ research skills and career interests. 

The REU project will target promising undergraduate students from diverse social and economic backgrounds, and provide an opportunity to experience first hand research in cognitive science or in one of its related disciplines. By involving students early in their academic experience, we hope to increase the numbers that consider careers in science.  Our goal is to awaken an interest in and an appreciation for cognitive science, in particular, and the scientific approach in general.  The REU students will interact with faculty mentors and graduate students while doing research. Students will choose to base their two semester experience in one of the following research laboratories; Bioinformatics, Perception, Cognition, Social Psychology, Neuroscience, Virtual Reality.  A seminar, taken for academic credit, will provide the technical knowledge and social interactions needed by the students to complete their research project and to assist with their career goals.  An ethics in science component will be incorporated into the seminar and the internship experience. During the yearlong program, each student will be responsible for completing a research project and presenting the results at a research conference.  

• Must be enrolled in a college or university in the Charlotte metropolitan area
• Major in one of the disciplines that participate in the Cognitive Science Program (Psychology, Computer Science, Philosophy, Linguistics).
• Complete a Statistics course and/or Research Methods Course.
• Members of ethnic minority groups, persons with disabilities, first-generation college students and students who have had to overcome other kinds of social, physical, or economic barriers are encouraged to apply.
• Must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States.

The REU students are paid a stipend of $2000 a semester to work 10-12 hours a week on research activities. Funds are also available to defray the extra expense of traveling to a research lab at UNC Charlotte or to a field setting.

The REU students will also be required to enroll in 1 credit of independent research at UNC Charlotte.  (Tuition for students enrolled in institutions other than UNC Charlotte will be paid by the REU program.)

Limited funds will be available for reimbursement of expenses associated with travel to a conference to present research findings.