Central Washington University has many programs that help support student research and scholarship. 

These include: 

• Ongoing student opportunities for Central Students:
  • Douglas Honors College (DHC) Upper-Division Scholarship Experience
  • McNair Scholars Program
  • High-performance computing at Central
  • Not currently active:
    • Science Talent Expansion Program (STEP)
    • College of the Sciences Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) 
• Discipline-specific opportunities hosted by Central:
  • Summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates
• Student opportunities with groups outside Central:
  • Student Opportunity Center (SOC)
  • National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (NSF REUs)

Current opportunities for CWU Students

High-performance computing at CWU

• No deadline: Contact Bill Glessner
• CWU has the CWU high-performance computing sub-network comprised of x86_64 servers running a Linux operating environment that is available to accept research and project work from the CWU faculty and students, both graduate and undergraduate.
• The systems provide an array of OpenSource resources such as compilers, libraries and tools, and full application packages. These include: the usual collection of Linux text and programming code manipulation tools, including Perl, GNU C/C++/Fortran compilers, Python-2 and Python-3 development environments, OpenBLAS,  LAPACK and ATLAS linear algebra packages, the PARI/GP mathematical package, the Julia mathematical/modeling package, the Sage mathematical package, the Octave research package, the Computational Geometry  Algorithms Library, the PSPP statistical package, the R Language statistical and data analysis package, and the NCL/NCARgraphics application.
• In addition, it is possible for researchers and project teams to create their own application/tool environments within their private user-space.

Ongoing programs for Central Students

College of the Sciences Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE)

The COTS Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) funds student researchers and their faculty mentors for up to six weeks (240 hours) of research during the summer. Effort may be full-time or part-time in working the funded hours, but must be completed between June 16 and September 15. A call for proposals is usually issued in Winter Quarter, with proposals due in early February.  

The Douglas Honors College (DHC) Upper-Division Scholarship Experience

The Upper-Division Scholarship Experience is a faculty-mentored research experience in either the Art & Humanities or the Sciences. With the help of a Douglas Honors College advisor, students choose the appropriate track in which to enroll. The program is 17 credits and consists of two five-credit courses in the Douglas Honors College and seven thesis and research credits in either the Douglas Honors College or the Science Honors Program.

McNair Scholars Program

The mission of the McNair Scholars Program at Central is to help low-income, first-generation college students and students underrepresented in graduate education, reach their goals of attaining doctoral degrees.  The McNair Scholars Program is a two-year program of scholarly activities that includes a paid, nine-week, full-time summer research fellowship, training in how to write and present a scholarly research paper, regional graduate school visits, guidance through the graduate school application process, and other co-curricular and pre-professional training.

Science Talent Expansion Program (STEP)

The Science Talent Expansion Program (STEP) is for any student interested in majoring in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics at Central Washington University. Academic support and mentoring is offered along with special courses with hands-on activities, STEP-specific sections of ENG 101/102 and UNIV 101, STEM-faculty mentored research experiences, and financial support for eligible students.

Opportunities with groups outside Central

Student Opportunity Center (SOC)

CWU has adopted the largest database in the country for student opportunities. The Student Opportunity Center (S.O.C.) can connect students with over 10,000 resources, such as grants, conferences, professional development, publications, and more! It is free to students and staff (use your cwu email to sign up). To sign up and to start taking advantage of this wonderful opportunity, please visit: www.studentopportunitycenter.com/login

National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (NSF REUs)

NSF funds a large number of research opportunities for undergraduate students through its REU Sites program. An REU Site consists of a group of ten or so undergraduates who work in the research programs of the host institution. Each student is associated with a specific research project, where he/she works closely with the faculty and other researchers. Students are granted stipends and, in many cases, assistance with housing and travel. Undergraduate students supported with NSF funds must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States or its possessions. An REU Site may be at either a US or foreign location. Please visit https://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/ to find an REU specific to your discipline of interst.