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OUR Student Transfers And Research (STAR)

OUR STAR is a program for motivated incoming transfer students to engage in research.

STAR participants will be assigned a faculty research mentor to work with for the academic year.  Faculty mentors will be selected from the student’s major department or one closely aligned with the discipline and will have a strong history of working with early program researchers and those with little or no previous research experience. Priority will be given to students transferring from Florida two-year colleges. Funds will be provided to purchase materials and supplies for the research project.

Learn more about STAR by clicking on this link to a program description: OUR Student Transfers And Research (STAR).

 

  • Provide a department-based “community” for new transfer students
  • Build strong, early, long-lasting relationships between transfer students and faculty
  • Build student research skills that can be utilized and strengthened throughout degree plan

Students in the STAR program are expected to complete a research project, though not at the level of independence or depth of a more senior-level research student.  Students are also expected to meet the following targets:

  • Make consistent progress toward your research project during the fall and spring semesters.  Students who fail to make consistent progress toward their research projects may forfeit all or part of their research supply funds and may be asked to leave the STAR program. 
  • Complete a research compact with your faculty mentor before beginning your research project – research compacts will include a plan for the research question(s) you will address, anticipated dates for reaching target goals, a plan for communication between the mentor and mentee, etc. 
  • Write an abstract of the research project/results suitable for submission to an external research conference, such as the National Conference for Undergraduate Research (NCUR) – these will be submitted to OUR by the end of November unless an extension request is requested in writing by the faculty mentor. This early deadline is so students and mentors can consider submitting the abstract to NCUR to meet the early December deadline. OUR recognizes that much of the research will not yet be completed by this deadline; however, writing a conference abstract before the completion of research is very common in professional research and is, therefore, a valuable communication skill to gain experience.
  • Present your research at the UWF Student Scholars Symposium - an annual campus-wide research celebration. Abstracts are typically due in early March, and the Symposium is typically held on a Thursday in April. Event details and information will be shared with all STAR students. 
  • Submit a STAR program survey – this will include questions on the impact of the research experience and STAR program. Surveys will be completed/submitted online and emailed to all participants.

  • Students who have recently transferred to UWF (particularly those from Florida two-year colleges) and are interested in the OUR STAR program should contact OUR (our@uwf.edu). 
  • Once selected for the STAR program, students will be matched with a faculty mentor from their major department and will work with their mentor to develop a research project plan and schedule.