GUIDED DISCOVERY
Spurring the intellectual curiosity of students is the goal of the Honors College.
Written by Tiffany Tubbs-Berry
Steps begin journeys of a thousand miles, say the Chinese. The initial introduction for many undergraduates to learning research techniques starts within the Texas Tech University Honors College Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program. The fellowship program was established to expand undergraduate students' knowledge of conducting research.
“Spurring the intellectual curiosity of undergraduate students through active participation in the learning and discovery process is one of the goals of the Honors College,” says Katherine Lindsey, coordinator for the fellowship. “A meaningful research experience promotes active learning through guided discovery.”
The Honors College Fellowship Program encourages undergraduate participation in significant research experiences in all disciplines by fostering collaboration with faculty and by providing meaningful support through stipends for student researchers, she explains.
When Jamal Ismayilov, Texas Tech alumnus and research fellow, and Philip English, Ph.D., professor of finance in the Rawls College of Business and faculty mentor, first met, they realized the word “fellowship” had many meanings.
“I have had the privilege of working with Jamal for the last two years, and he has played an active role throughout the research process, from the conceptualization of the research questions through the statistical analysis of the data,” English says. “Jamal not only became a respected coworker, but also a friend.”
A journey takes time, just as any learning experience, therefore at Texas Tech, undergraduate research fellows are compensated financially and may work up to 20 hours per week while school is in session. Because of limited funding, the Honors College asks faculty members who are receiving grant monies for their projects to supply one-half of their student researchers’ stipends if possible.
Ismayilov's positive experience with the program led him to step forward in his career path, and he began researching convertible bonds, or bonds that are convertible into a company's common stock.
“When I walked into the office a year ago, my knowledge of scientific research was limited to search engines on the Internet. Today, I am fully armed with the most comprehensive ways of conducting research in a wide-spectrum of topics in finance and economics, working with specialized databases, running statistical tests and writing in-depth analysis of the results," Ismayilov comments.
“While many professors tend to concentrate their attention on a portion of students who are showing interest toward the subject, English makes an extra effort to reach every single student in his class, making the learning process not only productive, but also enjoyable,” Ismayilov says.
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The undergraduate research fellowship project may be initiated by either a student or a faculty member. The research learning experience culminates with a required poster session presented each Spring as part of the Texas Tech University Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Days. The event brings visibility to undergraduate research and provides the student with experience in poster presentation and judging, says Lindsey. Ismayilov placed third and first place, respectively, in the poster presentation competition during the two years he participated in the fellowship.
Applicants need not be associated with the Honors College to be awarded a fellowship, which generally is awarded on an annual basis. Lindsey says the guarantee of continued funding after the initial award period cannot be made, but projects that have received funding previously are given priority when progress on the research project is demonstrated in the application for continued funding.
All students must be enrolled for at least 12 credit hours during each long semester of the academic year and must have at least a cumulative 3.0 GPA to participate in the program. Final deadline for applications is April 15 for the following school year. The Honors College Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program website.
The journey through learning and knowing how to conduct research is taken diligently, step-by-step. At Texas Tech, undergraduate researchers grow by leaps and bounds in their discovery of new knowledge, as well as in their findings of themselves.