Undergraduate Student-Faculty Research Collaboration

Undergraduate students in the Department of English at NDSU have many opportunities to work with faculty on projects within the University and the Fargo/Moorhead Community. These projects give students the opportunity to conduct research directly alongside faculty members. Positive impacts of these projects include increased academic focus, socialization into the field and the social context, access to resources, opportunities to gain new ideas without abandoning one’s background, skills and competencies, promise of graduate education, and broadening of horizons.

 

Examples of undergraduate research in the Humanities at NDSU include, university-wide projects, such as:

  • Upward Bound
  • Governor’s School
  • Summer Institutes 
  • Senior Capstone Projects
  • The McNair Scholars Program
  • Specialized degree programs whose focus is faculty-student research, like Public History 

The Department of English offers opportunities for students to engage in active and career-focused learning activities at all levels. All faculty are involved in the project, and all mentor student-faculty research projects, in the capstone seminar as well as in the following learning environments:

  • Research-focused UG curriculum
  • Specially designed classrooms, in which research is supported through technology 
  • Internships
  • Research Assistantship
  • Field Experiences and other experiential learning opportunities
  • Classes like Grant Writing, Capstone, and Independent Studies provide opportunities for student-driven and student-focused research
  • Outreach programs like TAPP allow our students to collaborate on translation projects in authentic environments, world-wide
  • NDSU English collaborates with and supports Giving + Learning, which offers mentorship and English language and culture training to New Americans 
  • Community-based and Service-learning classes

The Department of History, Philosophy, and Religious Studies additionally offers Public History classes that our students can take as part of their degree program, both t the Undergraduate and the graduate level. Dr. Angela Smith directs these projects, and students, under her supervision, have created several interesting projects, including:

  • Using PocketSights, student produced historically based walking tour of Fargo/Moorhead
  • Historical documentaries that are researched and produced by students.
  • Local history website where all research has been conducted and written by students 
  • Internships year round at venues like Bonanzaville, the Fargo Air Museum, the Plains Art Museum, and the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County at the Hjemkomst
  • Every other summer, a group of students travel to a small town in the region for two weeks and focus on a small museum as part of a Public History Field School.
  • The field school provides hands-on training in curation, preservation, collections management, label writing, and community engagement. It serves the community.
  • Undergraduates have contributed significantly to several recent museum exhibits. In 2015, the much-acclaimed American Dreams exhibit debuted. 
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