9.2 Undergraduate Research Programs

City Tech offers several nationally- and locally-funded programs for undergraduates interested in conducting research.

City Tech Funded Undergraduate Research Programs

The following highlights the locally-funded research programs at City Tech.  For more information about each of these programs, visit the City Tech Undergraduate Research website.

CUNY Research Scholars Program (for Associate Degree Students)

The CUNY Research Scholars Program provides funded laboratory experiences for associate degree students over a one-year period. The goal of the program is to encourage undergraduate participation in authentic research and to increase persistence in STEM disciplines.

The Black Male Initiative (BMI)

City Tech’s BMI program is a coordinated initiative that attracts, retains, and graduates students from under-represented groups, particularly African-American and Hispanic male students in the fields of STEM. The program focuses on student success in the college’s flagship programs in the sciences and engineering technologies because these are among the college’s strongest programs and because they are areas in which African-Americans and Hispanics are notably underrepresented. Increasing the numbers of underrepresented minority students who succeed in STEM disciplines is important not only to the economic vitality of the New York metropolitan area, but to the nation as a whole. Inasmuch as the purpose of this project is to strengthen the engagement and success of African-American and Hispanic male students in STEM fields, the project also serves as a prototype for future cohort-based initiatives that address the needs of other educationally underserved and disadvantaged populations in higher education.

Emerging Scholars Program

The Emerging Scholars Program provides a stipend for a student researcher assisting a faculty member with research or other scholarly endeavors. The purpose of the program is to help students develop a close relationship with a faculty member and promote a practical understanding of material learned in courses, while providing the faculty member as mentor with some assistance.

Honors Scholars Program

The Honors Scholars Program at City Tech is dedicated to providing academically gifted students with the opportunity to develop their intellectual potential. The program is open to students who have completed at least 12 credits with a cumulative grade-point-average of 3.4 or better. Transfer students entering City Tech with 16 or more college credit hours and a transfer grade-point average of 3.4 or higher are eligible to apply.

The program encourages students who have demonstrated high academic achievement to undertake honors level work in any appropriate course through the Contract for Honors Credit in a Regular Course agreement. Honors work normally involves substantial independent research projects in addition to the normal requirements of the course.  Honors credit is noted on the transcript as “HONORS PROJECT” followed by the course and semester.

CUNY Immersive Research Experience (CIRE) Program

The CUNY Immersive Research Experience (CIRE) provides funded research experiences for baccalaureate degree students over a one-year period. The goal of the program is to encourage undergraduate participation in authentic research, to increase persistence in STEM disciplines (including social and behavioral sciences), and to prepare advanced undergraduate students for graduate programs and the professional workforce.

Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation  (LSAMP) Program

NYC LSAMP is a fellowship program for second-year students who are interested in pursuing STEM majors and want to incorporate undergraduate research experience in their studies. NYC LSAMP Fellows get to shape the STEM and undergraduate research communities in their home campus and throughout CUNY and receive guaranteed placement with a research mentor, a research stipend, and guidance and additional training from our Faculty Coordinators.

Collegiate Science & Technology Entry Program (CSTEP) Program

CSTEP is a student success program designed to provide transfer students from underrepresented populations and economically disadvantaged backgrounds with the support needed to succeed in college.

NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU)

NSF REU program at City Tech provides undergraduate students (community college and four-year students) an opportunity to conduct full-time, collaborative satellite and ground-based remote sensing research with faculty mentors from within NOAA-CESSRST’s Center for Earth System Sciences and Remote Sensing Technologies and its Center for Remote Sensing and Earth System Sciences.

NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Pathways into Geoscience (IUSE: GEOPATHS)

NSF IUSE GEOPath program at City Tech provides a year-round geoscience workforce preparation and geoscience career mentoring program for non-geoscience minority STEM students beginning at the critical junctures of their junior and/or senior years. The overall goal of the program is to create a sustainable pathway to the dwindling geoscience workforce by tapping into this non-traditional pool of students.