Student Research
Research is the creation of new knowledge.
The College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (CNSM) is a national leader in integrating undergraduate research and education. CNSM students have the unique opportunity to engage with their faculty and fellow undergraduate and graduate students on research projects throughout their undergraduate career at CSULB.
Participation in research helps students develop skills in critical thinking, creative problem solving, and communication. These skills are highly valued in any career; they are real-world skills often not explicitly emphasized in classes or scheduled laboratories but of primary concern to employers.
Our research seeks to address questions asked in a wide variety of subjects including astrophysics, heart and neurologic disease, cancer drug delivery methods, earthquakes, and "urban ocean" issues such as overfishing, pollution, and invasive species. As a student here, you will find research opportunities in all six departments of the college: Biological Sciences; Chemistry and Biochemistry; Earth Science; Mathematics and Statistics; Physics and Astronomy; and Science Education; as well as the program of Environmental Science and Policy.
Why Do Research?
CSULB students are highly encouraged to collaborate with faculty on research projects. The projects may be related to the faculty member's research program or initiated by the student.
Participation in research is a way to learn more about a scientific sub-discipline and to learn about the scientific method: observation; explanation of those observations through formulating hypotheses; design and performance of experiments to test the hypothesis; analysis of experimental results; and finally communication those results, the conclusions that can be drawn from them, and their significance.
Regardless of whether research will be a part of their future careers, participation in research helps students develop skills in critical thinking, creative problem solving, and communication. These skills are highly valued in any career; they are real-world skills often not explicitly emphasized in classes or scheduled laboratories but of primary concern to employers. Research is a form of active learning that helps translate "what do you know" into "what you can do" -- a basis for critical interview questions often asked by prospective employers.
For those who aspire to research careers, student research is an early immersive experience that helps define interests and talents, and can identify optimal career paths that a student may wish to pursue in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Some student research experiences may provide an opportunity to co-author a journal article with a faculty mentor -- a great addition for resumes and applications.
Benefits of Conducting Original Research
In addition to fostering skills in critical thinking, creative problem solving, and communication, research provides insight into what it entails to be an active scientist, mathematician, or educator. Developing this insight through hands-on experience allows students to make informed decisions about whether a future in research is right for them. In conducting original research with a faculty mentor, students learn the excitement of discovery and gain scientific literacy.
Scientific literacy is the knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts and processes required for personal decision making, participation in civic and cultural affairs, and economic productivity. A scientifically literate person has the capacity to:
- Use reason to interpret scientific facts and their meaning and determine answers to questions derived from curiosity about everyday experiences.
- Describe, explain, and predict natural phenomena.
- Understand and evaluate the quality of scientific information, as reported in the popular press, on the basis of its source and the methods used to generate it.
- Identify scientific issues underlying national and local decisions and express positions that are scientifically and technologically informed.
Being scientifically literate helps us evaluate the tremendous volume of knowledge available through online sources and social media. Today, humans create several exabytes of information every 48 hours (1 exabyte is 1 billion gigabytes). Is it all "good" information? It is correct? It is useful? How can we tell? Science literacy is more important than ever to answer these questions.
How to Find Research Opportunities
As a student in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, you will find research opportunities in all departments of the college. Jensen SAS staff, CNSM academic advisors, and department undergraduate advisors can be good starting points for gathering information on research opportunities. Additional suggestions can be found on How to Find Student Research Opportunities.
Finding Support to Do Research
Opportunities are available to actually get paid as a student to do research. See How to Find Support to Do Student Research for more information.
