Graduate schools receive hundreds of applications each semesterfrom students who meet their admission requirements. But in ahighly competitive market, not everyone is accepted.
One way for students to distinguish themselves from otherapplicants is with an undergraduate research designation, saidMelinda Jones, director of The University of Memphis HonorsProgram.
"For students who want to go to graduate school and want agraduate assistantship, I think it looks attractive to graduateschools," Jones said.
Students of any major can earn an Undergraduate Research Scholardesignation on their transcript through The U of M honors programby presenting an individual research project at three researchforums.
The students, who do not need to be enrolled in the honorsprogram to participate, present their research projects at TheUniversity Works in Progress Symposium, National Conference onUndergraduate Research and any one other approved researchforum.
Former director Phyllis Betts started the program in 1992 afterseeing a lack of undergraduate research at universities.
"I was interested in developing the program because I had beeninvolved since 1986 in the national movement to involveundergraduates in research," Betts said.
Each fall, the Honors Department sponsors the Works in ProgressSymposium, in which students orally present an outline of theprogress made on their projects. A committee evaluates the projectoutline, making suggestions for improvements and determiningwhether the students should apply to the National Conference onUndergraduate Research.
NCUR is an annual conference in which students orally presenttheir research to thousands of scholars from more than 300 collegesand universities.
"I got a lot of experience networking with other scholars," saidRashawn Ray, a graduating senior who will receive his transcriptdesignation at the end of this semester.
Students have the opportunity to make their final presentationat The University of Memphis Research Symposium or another approvedresearch forum.
At the symposium, a faculty committee judges students' researchdisplay posters based on several criteria. Cash prizes andcertificates are awarded.
This year's symposium will be April 28 in the UniversityCenter.
"For those students who commit themselves to a qualifyingresearch project, an official designation is a way of communicatingto others, graduate schools, employers included, that they haveofficially met a set of special criteria," Betts said.
Ray, who plans to attend graduate school in the fall, said theexperience has put him ahead of the game.
