12 undergraduate students earn College of Arts and Sciences research grants

UMSL Daily

UMSL students (from left) Michael Austin, Sara Ricardez, Jacob Smreker, Meghan Littles, Kristin Bales, Rachel Schafer, Nick Terzich and Amanda Loelke are among the 12 undergraduates who received a 2017 College of Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Research Award this spring. Not pictured are Fatima Amtashar, Miranda Jany, Danielle Oyler and Laura Smith. (Photo by August Jennewein)
When people think of collegiate research, often professors and their graduate researchers first come to mind.
But at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, you’ll also find undergraduate students stepping into lab coats and helping advance projects at the university. That’s because the UMSL undergraduate experience extends beyond the classroom and campus life.
“One of the important aspects of education at UMSL is the opportunity students have to participate in independent research, scholarship and creative endeavors,” said College of Arts and Sciences Dean Ron Yasbin. “The college prides itself on encouraging our students to take advantage of this component of our research and land-grant mission.”
It does so specifically by awarding the College of Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Research Award annually to students who apply for funding for their research projects at the university. This spring, CAS Undergraduate Research Awards went to 12 students, who received up to $1,000 in funding for their individual research.
“Beyond promoting independent research, scholarship and creative endeavors,” said Yasbin, “this experience exposes students to the real-life requirement of writing grants in order to pursue these endeavors.”
For many of these undergraduates, this is the first time they apply for a grant and receive research funding. That was the case for senior psychology major Meghan Littles.
“I was really excited about it because I’m going on to grad school, and with applications, it was really important to get a lot of research experience to make myself a better candidate,” Littles said. “So it was really nice having this opportunity here ...

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