Undergraduate Research

Welcome to the College Office of Undergraduate Research in the College of Science and Mathematics at Georgia Southern University. The students and faculty of COSM are leaders in undergraduate-faculty research at Georgia Southern. Through COUR this successful collaboration will be supported and developed further via an annual Research Symposium. COUR will continue to seek ways for expanding undergraduate-faculty research in the College of Science and Mathematics at Georgia Southern University.

A key objective for the University’s is discovery and dissemination of knowledge. Prompt and open dissemination of the results of research and creative activities to the public is essential to the University’s mission of instruction and research. Taken further, commercial development and distribution of such results to benefit the inventor, the public, and the economy can be considered part of the University’s mission of public service. The University’s intellectual property policy was crafted to facilitate the commercial development of intellectual property and to provide compensation to University inventors who participate in such development. Students have inventor rights under the policy and the College Office of Undergraduate Research encourages students to review the policy and become familiar with its provisions.

COUR Objectives

• Support and enhance existing faculty-undergraduate research.
• Support student travel to present research.
• Facilitate the creation and support of new faculty-undergraduate research initiatives.
• Showcase faculty-undergraduate research.

COUR Structure

COUR is a division in the College of Science and Mathematics at Georgia Southern University. The Directors of COUR have the responsibility of overseeing the mission objectives, facilitating specific responsibilities to achieve these objectives, and managing the COUR budget. The Directors report to the Associate Dean of Faculty and Research Programs.

Our Mission: To further the Undergraduate Research Experience in Science and Mathematics at Georgia Southern University.

Emerging Researchers Program

Are you interested in a work study research position? If you qualify for a work study position, check out the Faculty Mentors and Research Projects.

Interested? Fill out the interest form here.

Grants

Research Grants

All undergraduate research students in COSM are invited to submit a proposal for the Annual College Office of Undergraduate Research (COUR) competition. Funding will cover research being conducted from October 2024 through August 2025. Students will be expected to present the results of their research at the Annual Symposium in April, 2025.

Applications are due September 19, 2024.

• COUR Research Award Application Instructions
• Online Application

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF)

The COSM College of Undergraduate Research (COUR) invites applications for the 2024 Summer
Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF). This fellowship is designed to enhance experiential learning
for students by supporting undergraduate research during the Full Summer Term. $4000 awards will be
made to the best applications and include: 

• $3000 stipend for the undergraduate student, with the expectation that the student conducts
• research with a COSM faculty mentor for 25 hours/week for 10 weeks during the Full Summer Term. 
• $500 summer stipend for the faculty mentor
• $500 in supplies or research travel (funds may not be used for conference travel)

To qualify, students must be a COSM major and mentored by a COSM faculty member. For more
information email Dr. Heather Joesting at hjoesting@georgiasouthern.edu.

Applications are due April 15, 2025

• COUR Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Application Instructions
• SURF Online Application

Travel Grants from the Office of Research Services

The Office of Research is offering a limited number of travel grants for undergraduate students presenting original research at a regional or national conference. Award recipients are required to provide a summary of their experience together with the winning abstract no later than one month after attending the conference. This material may be made public in the new undergraduate research journal. This is a rolling deadline. Complete applications will be reviewed on the 15th of each month, for travel after the 1st of the following month.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Students must be an undergraduate and enrolled continuously before and during the time of award and travel; if the student is a senior, travel must be completed within three months of graduation.
• GPA of 3.0 or better
• The primary research mentor must be a Georgia Southern faculty member

To apply follow this link https://research.georgiasouthern.edu/home/undergraduate-research-creative-activity/ and click the “Money” tab.

Student Government Association Travel Grants

Student Government Association Travel Grants

The Student Government Association can fund travel for students attending a conference and presenting their research at a maximum of $300 or student attending a conference at a maximum of $150.  The student must be a current undergraduate or a graduate student who is in good standing at Georgia Southern University and paid their student activity fees.  To apply follow this link http://students.georgiasouthern.edu/sga/services/individual-funding/.

Awards

Katherine Barrs (Biology and Mathematics) was awarded a Barry Goldwater Scholarship, the preeminent undergraduate award for students pursuing research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering. She is one of only 496 college students from across the United States to earn the scholarship, which she will apply to her remaining four semesters of coursework.

Resources

COSM Transcript Notation for Dean’s Recognition as a Research Scholar

Undergraduate students may receive the COSM notation on their transcript by fulfilling a set of requirements listed below prior to the awarding of their degree. The notation would appear as: Dean’s Recognition as a Research Scholar.

The transcript notation provides evidence that the student has demonstrated excellence in scientific research and will certify that the student has achieved proficiency in a set of research and scholarly benchmarks as outlined by the College.  The Dean will award students with this designation at the Dean’s Recognition as a Research Scholar reception.

Research in the College of Science and Mathematics

Research experiences are a high impact practice in the COSM. Research is defined as: “An inquiry or investigation conducted by an undergraduate student that makes an original intellectual or creative contribution to the discipline” (Council on Undergraduate Research, 2019). In order to recognize the outstanding work of our students, the College of Science and Mathematics has an established set of requirements that must be fulfilled to qualify for the transcript notation.

The requirements are as follows:

Course Work

A student must conduct a project over a minimum of two semesters and earn a minimum of three research scholar credits conducting research with a faculty advisor. One research scholar credit is equivalent to either one independent research credit hour or at least 95 hours of paid student work on a project. Acceptable research projects must conform to the following four criteria:

1. Project has the potential to produce a contribution to the discipline.
2. Project involves faculty and student collaboration.
3. Project has the potential to be published.
4. Project involves the scientific process.

Summer Research

Summer research experiences may be counted for credit towards the Dean’s Recognition as a Research Scholar program.  Typically, students will enroll in independent study, capstone, research, thesis, or similar course credits. Undergraduate students can receive one research scholar credit for every 95 hours of summer research. Students can request up to three research scholar credits. (Research scholar credits are for the transcript notation only, not course credit. Similarly, research scholar credits can be granted for participation in federally supported programs including NSF REU programs and full-time programs by NASA and NIH.) Students intending to make these substitutions should consult with COSM’s College Office of Undergraduate Research (COUR) director for their home campus, and/or COSM’s associate dean of research to determine how to verify participation in these programs before they apply for this designation.

Written Product (Research Thesis)

A student must prepare a substantial written product from their research in manuscript form, which should be comparable to an honors thesis in length and format  and must be approved by the advisor.  Completion of an Honors thesis will qualify for this requirement.  If the student is awarded this transcript notation their written product will be archived on the COUR website, and/or at Digital Commons via the Georgia Southern Libraries.  (Note: The document will NOT be posted online until the research mentor decides the timing is appropriate).  By submitting this application you give COSM permission to archive your paper on the website.

Presentation on Professional Meeting

A student must present their research at an external professional meeting related to
their major discipline or research, at the state, regional, national, or international level. If the
discipline does not encourage undergraduate participation at discipline-specific
conferences, a student could also present at other student-oriented conferences such
as the National Conference on Undergraduate Research, Sigma Xi, Georgia
Undergraduate Research Conference, etc. Attendance will be verified by the student’s
faculty mentor, registration receipts, or similar evidence. An oral presentation or a
poster presentation given by the applicant will fulfill this requirement.

Transcript Notation Application

A student must submit a Transcript Notation Application via Google form to COUR Director for their home campus (contact information below). The application should be prepared with the student’s faculty-mentor and must be submitted four weeks before graduation in order to be recognized at commencement. Students are encouraged to submit this application as soon as it is complete. (You do not have to wait until the the semester of graduation.) Doing so will allow for your transcript notation to occur earlier, which can be beneficial for graduate/professional school and job applications. Students have up to six months after graduation to apply.

2025 Symposium

All COSM undergraduate researchers (COUR) must present at the University Wide Student Scholarship Symposium. To Register, fill out the form here.

• Statesboro Campus-Russell Union, TBA
• Armstrong Campus-Student Union, TBA

Contact Information

If you have questions please contact:

Dr. Heather Joesting

Administrative Fellow in Undergraduate Research

hjoesting@georgiasouthern.edu

912-344-2998

COUR Committee

The COUR Committee is charged with furthering the mission of COUR. The responsibilities of the COUR Committee include assessing COUR grant applications, attending/organizing the spring research symposium, and serving as judges for poster and oral presentations as necessary. Through individual and group efforts, the COUR Committee will gather, organize, and disseminate information on undergraduate research experiences to the Georgia Southern community. Committee members will act as liaisons to their department/unit to further undergraduate research at Georgia Southern University.