Undergraduate Research Program

The National Center for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) seeks to engage talented undergraduate students pursuing degrees in the social and behavioral sciences in research related to understanding origins and/or responses to terrorism. By involving undergraduates in ongoing research projects, START hopes to prepare today’s students for future study and work in the areas of terrorism, counter-terrorism, and homeland security.

Towards this goal, the Center will invite 5 undergraduates to participate in START’s research as part of its Undergraduate Research Program (URP) during academic year 2008-09. Those selected to participate in the URP will:

Participate actively in one of the ongoing research projects sponsored by START;
Conduct original research related to START’s research agenda, to result in a significant research paper;
Attend a two-day orientation in August 2008 in College Park, Maryland; and
Present research findings at the annual meeting of the START research consortium in June 2009 in College Park, Maryland.

To assist URP participants, the START Center will provide participants with:

A stipend of $3,000, to be used as salary to the undergrad researcher for their contributions on START projects as well as to cover the costs of professional development opportunities; and
All travel costs related to attendance at the URP orientation in August 2008 and the START Annual Meeting in June 2009.

All URP Participants work closely with a mentor that they have identified during the application process. Note: Only current START investigators may serve as mentors for the URP Program. A list of these investigators is available at http://www.start.umd.edu/research/investigators/. URP Mentors will:

Involve the URP directly in his/her START research effort;
Help undergraduates develop their research and analysis skills;
Provide advice on the student’s original research project (including advice on presenting the paper at professional conferences and/or submitting it for publication); and
Explore with the URP participant options for continuing work in the area of terrorism research.

To nominate a student

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