Undergraduate Opportunities

Student recruitment is anticipated through a variety of venues including direct contact with geoscience departments across the USA as well as through advertisements in Mineral News. The selection process will be made through a variety of criteria, but there will be special attention to insuring parity with regard to gender status, minority status, ability/disability, etc. characteristics of the student population.

On acceptance into the HuMin Research Experiences for Undergraduates, the student and faculty will discuss a research topic suitable for the student. The initial selected student research will result in a short paper with data obtained from literature sources. The student will have from early Spring until mid-June to work on their assignment and they will complete the literature-based mineralogical paper before arriving at HuMin. The paper will serve as a basis of their first seminar presentation while at HuMin's REU.

After the intensive orientation of week one, students will assess their choices of research activity and will formulate a plan of study. They will learn about choosing a realistic topic and the philosophy of designing a research project, including application of the scientific method. They will also perform mineralogical research, which may be of their own choosing or they may be assigned a topic. HuMin might procure necessary samples for worldwide mineralogical survey research projects, although most students will ordinarily conduct research specimens from a field area if they have a field project. Mineral samples belonging to HuMin and coalition partners' collections may be used for purely analytical projects.

The ten week REU program will build on students' prior experiences in mineralogy, petrology, and chemistry. Prior field geology courses would be a bonus, but are not required. The day will begin at 8 AM and finish at 5 PM. Weekends might include fieldtrips. While at HuMin, students will take classes concerning various aspects of mineralogy.