Collaborative Undergraduate Research and Inquiry

The St. Olaf Collaborative Undergraduate Research and Inquiry (CURI) program provides opportunities for St. Olaf students of all academic disciplines to gain an in-depth understanding of a particular subject through working closely with a St. Olaf faculty member in a research setting. A general email announcement inviting students to apply for summer research, the Steen Fellowships and Magnus the Good Collaborative Fellowships is sent to all students early in the second semester.  This email directs students to a list of descriptions of projects for which faculty are seeking student collaborators.

CURI promotes collaborations between students and faculty during the academic year through four different programs:

1. Our summer program supports mentored undergraduate research across all departments and majors, with variation in availability depending on professors' participation. Throughout the experience, students learn how research is conducted in a specific field. The program offers students opportunities to reflect and further evaluate where their skills, interests, and values best fit with their future professional endeavors. A student interested in applying for the summer research must be enrolled as a St. Olaf student and be a rising sophomore, junior, or senior. There is no GPA requirement that must be met in order to apply for the program, but a student’s academic record will be considered during the selection process.
2. Steen Fellowships support students engaged in independent research projects conducted during the summer.
3. Magnus the Good Collaborative Fellowships support small teams of faculty and students on projects they design together and then conduct at various times throughout the year.
4. The CURI office also supports students who travel to present research findings at regional and national conferences. Supported presentations can be based on classroom projects, independent research, or summer research on or off campus.

Research Opportunities at St. Olaf

Research opportunities can be discovered in a variety of settings; talk to faculty members about which classes support original research as well as about how to be involved in each faculty member's current research projects.  The Elevator database (https://elevator.stolaf.edu/curi) displays information about recent projects and helps students identify a professor’s area of study. You can also find research posters hanging in hallways throughout the academic buildings. Besides these informal exchanges, students have several options to explore opportunities during the academic year and in the summer.

Course Credit and OLE CORE

Students do not earn course credit for summer research because they are paid employees of the college.  The remuneration also includes housing on campus.  Steen Fellows and Magnus Fellows earn stipends instead of wages. These opportunities do not allow students to earn course credit. Students participating in summer research may be able to complete their OLE Experience in Practice general education credit.

Academic Year 

There are several ways in which students can participate in undergraduate research during the academic year. Many majors require students to conduct original research in structured seminars. Students may take an Independent Research course and work on a project under the supervision of a faculty member. Another option is our Directed Undergraduate Research (DUR) course. In this course, which may be taught in any department or program, a small group of students work with a faculty member on research. These courses are listed in the class and lab schedule in the Student Information System (SIS) under the "396" code. Students are encouraged to discuss these opportunities with associated faculty and department chairs.

Finally, each spring students in applied mathematics, statistics, and computer science are invited to apply to be Fellows in the Center for Interdisciplinary Research (CIR) for the following academic year. Eligible statistics students will have completed at least STAT 272, while criteria for students in applied math or computer science will depend on the nature of proposed projects. More information on the CIR is available at wp.stolaf.edu/cir.