The and USF Research & Innovation are expanding opportunities for undergraduate research across the University of South
91社区, funding programs in all 14 colleges, USF St. Petersburg, and Undergraduate
Studies for 2025鈥�26. Through the continued Corridor Undergraduate Research Initiative, more than 200 students will gain hands-on, faculty-mentored research experience
in disciplines ranging from engineering and artificial intelligence to public health,
education, sustainability, and the arts.
Since the program鈥檚 launch in 2022, it has supported more than 250 students and helped
to launch formal undergraduate research programs across more than half of the colleges
at USF. This year鈥檚 expansion marks a major milestone in making undergraduate research
an accessible and defining part of the USF student experience across all disciplines,
aligning with USF鈥檚 focus on experiential centered learning to drive student鈥檚 career readiness. These experiences bridge classroom learning
with immersive, real-world research - often for the first time - empowering students
to build new skills, confidence, and career pathways.
鈥淭his opportunity really solidified my understanding of what research in a public health setting entailed,鈥� said Ishika Sonthalia, a College of Public Health student whose work led to co-authorship on two studies. 鈥淕etting such a close look at the process and being the recipient of hands-on mentoring gave me a solid foundation for what sort of things I should aspire to be capable of when it finally comes to publishing my own research one day.鈥�
鈥淕etting the chance to be an HTC intern with the Center for Ocean Mapping and Innovative Technologies meant so much to me as a student and woman in STEM....Being given the opportunity to learn and grow through this internship, I now feel more qualified to go after roles that are similar,鈥� said Grace Angeli, a Judy Genshaft Honors College student who participated in the College of Marine Science research intern program.
To recognize faculty for their critical role in these programs, student success, and undergraduate research, the Corridor Undergraduate Research Initiative also provides faculty stipends to participating colleges. These faculty serve on the Undergraduate Research Council, led by the Office of Student Engagement in Research & Innovation (SERI), to share best practices in student engagement and research administration.
Grace Angeli summarizes the research that she conducted at the Center for Ocean Mapping and Innovative Technologies.
New Initiatives
Patel College of Global Sustainability - Sustainability Policy & Innovation Undergraduate
Research Program
The program will offer faculty-mentored research experiences for students across disciplines,
focusing on the Food-Water-Energy Nexus, Climate resilience, and sustainable technology
policy, with training in research methods, stakeholder engagement, and policy analysis
leading to student-authored outcomes.
Morsani College of Medicine - USF Health Innovation and Technology Scholars Program
This initiative will expand undergraduate research opportunities in emerging healthcare
technologies such as extended reality (XR), artificial intelligence (AI), and 3D printing
by pairing them with faculty mentors and integrating them into active projects at
the USF Health Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS).
Undergraduate Studies - Cultivating Student Scholars Through the Transfer Engagement
and Achievement Mentorship (TEAM) Program
This program will enhance the TEAM Program, a student-to-student mentor program for
transfer students at USF, to introduce a research readiness component that directly
engages first-year transfer and students from the Fuse Transfer Program, focusing
on foundational research skills, faculty engagement, and confidence-building to support
their academic and research success.
Recurring Initiatives
Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing - REU Interdisciplinary
Research Support for Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and
Computing
The Bellini College鈥檚 REU program aims to give undergraduate students an opportunity
to participate in interdisciplinary research involving AI, Cybersecurity, Computing,
as research assistants with professors and graduate students on a variety of exciting
existing and new research projects.
College of Arts & Sciences - Forever Resilient: Cross-College, Community-Engaged Research
in the Spatial Dynamics of Emerging Chemical Threats along Social and Ecological Gradients
in Tampa Bay
Forever Resilient builds on the prior funded program to provide first-time undergraduate
researchers with interdisciplinary training and mentorship to study PFAS chemicals
and community resilience through fieldwork and data collection across Tampa Bay.
College of Behavioral & Community Sciences 鈥� CBCS Corridor Undergraduate Research
Initiative
The CBCS Undergraduate Research Scholarship program continues to grow, doubling student
participation and expanding project options. It strengthens recruitment across three
initiatives and, with support from the MOM鈥檚 Project and Corridor funding, will further
increase opportunities for students to conduct independent research under close faculty
mentorship.
Muma College of Business - Integrated Analytics Research Experience for Undergraduates
(iAREU)
Building on last year's successful launch, the iAREU program seeks to expand undergraduate
research in the college providing students with hands-on experience in data-driven
projects across business areas such as business analytics, financial modeling, supply
chain optimization, digital marketing, and entrepreneurship, using tools like Python,
R, and JavaScript, with a focus on real-world innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration.
College of Design, Art, and Performance 鈥� Field based Research Assistantships in Entertainment
Design & Technology
Students will conduct research field work in Entertainment Design by assisting faculty
on professional or USF productions, using cutting-edge design technology like 3D rendering,
lighting software, and AI-generated art to explore career pathways in theatre, film,
and live performance.
College of Education 鈥� Educational Research in the Classroom & Beyond: The College
of Education Undergraduate Summer Research Academy
The Summer Research Academy allows 10 undergraduate research scholars in the College
to experience and learn about research through a guided program providing opportunities
for students to hear from researchers and collaborate with peers as they work on research
projects now enhanced with integrated AI training to deepen their research skills
and exposure.
College of Engineering 鈥� Expanding Opportunities: Undergraduate Research for 91社区鈥檚
Future STEM Workforce
The College鈥檚 Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program will be expanded
to give undergraduate students an opportunity to participate directly in research
efforts as research assistants with professors and graduate students on a variety
of exciting and interdisciplinary research projects.
Judy Genshaft Honors College 鈥� USF Undergraduate Research Portal
The student research team is enhancing the Undergraduate Research Portal, a resource
used by over 2,500 students, by adding new features like customization and faculty
profile upgrades, while expanding access to the broader USF and Tampa Bay communities
for research collaboration.
College of Marine Science 鈥� C-MORE Internship (Coastal Mapping, Observation, Research
& Ecology)
This program allows students from across disciplines to experience short duration
field experiences such as research cruises providing hands on experience in field
work activities gaining laboratory, field, and computational skills while also participating
in structured science communication training.
College of Nursing 鈥� Undergraduate Biobehavioral Researchers Program (UBRP)
The program provides undergraduate students with an immersive experience in laboratory
research, tailoring their experiences according to their interests and skill levels
with mentorship from the lab director, research assistants, and graduate-level students.
Taneja College of Pharmacy - Laboratory based research training for USF Undergraduate
students
This program provides undergraduate students across disciplines hands-on research
experiences with faculty in areas like in vitro research, bioinformatics, pharmacology,
and immunohistochemistry, offering lab-based training and mentorship to support their
learning and contributions to real-world research.
College of Public Health 鈥� COPH Connect to Success: A Program to Enhance Research
Mentorship for Undergraduate Students
Through a 10-week program public health and health sciences students will contribute
to a research project guided by faculty mentors on topics such as health equity and
disparities affecting underserved and marginalized populations.
USF St. Petersburg 鈥� Summer Academy for Investigative Learning (SAIL)
The continued SAIL Program will introduce undergraduate participants, especially those
new to research, to the profound significance of research in our ever-evolving society,
challenge them to confront local and global issues, and empower them to actively engage
in research endeavors at USF and beyond.