add research opportunities blog post

content/blog/2023-2024/2023-12-22-sapp-journey.md

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 excerpt: "John's experience with the Students as Partners Program"
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content/blog/2024-2025/2025-02-10-research-in-undergrad.md

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+---
+title: "Undergraduate Research Opportunities for Computer Science Students"
+date: 2025-02-10T00:00:00Z
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+layout: overlaypost
+preview: "/images/blog/2024-2025/research-in-undergrad-blog.png"
+background: "images/orientation2018-min.jpeg"
+excerpt: "An overview of the various research opportunities available for undergradute CS students at Carleton."
+hideBanner: false
+featured: true
+author: Rebecca Kempe
+categories:
+- blog
+---
+
+![research](/images/blog/2024-2025/research-in-undergrad-blog.png)
+</br></br>
+
+### What is research?
+The goal of academic research is to add to the body of knowledge within a field. Generally speaking, research either aims to understand (e.g. “Are there biases in the outputs produced by large language models?) or to create (e.g. “Here is a new protocol for sending messages across the internet”). Depending on the specific field, this could involve running experiments or simulations, designing algorithms or processes, interviewing or observing participants in a study, and so on. There is also generally an expectation that the results be communicated in some way. Most commonly, this is done through a written report, a poster, or a presentation.
+</br></br>
+
+### What will I be doing?
+Every research project is different, and what you end up doing will largely depend on your agreement with your supervisor. In computer science, some research will be theoretical (that is, involving largely algorithms and math), some will be applied (involving a lot of programming and implementations), and some will fall somewhere in between. Some projects (especially in human-computer interaction) may also involve collecting data from experiments, studies, or surveys.
+</br></br>
+
+### Reasons to consider trying research in university
+Getting involved in research can be a great way to build some technical skills, apply knowledge from your courses, and learn about a new area in computer science while obtaining work experience you can add to your résumé. You will also learn a lot of soft skills such as how to work independently, manage your own time, and communicate your work to others.
+
+If there is a particular area of computer science you are interested in diving deeper into, you are interested in topics that go beyond the scope of your courses, or you generally consider yourself to be a curious person, I would highly recommend trying research at least once. It is a rare opportunity to work with an expert in their area of expertise---while professors typically do not have industry experience, they do have a lot of experience with doing research, and in most cases you will learn as much from a research internship as you would in any other internship. It can also be exciting to contribute to innovating or learning something completely new in a field.
+
+If you are considering attending graduate programs (for example a master’s or a PhD), then getting research experience before you apply is also a good way of figuring out whether you would actually enjoy being a grad student, since a big part of grad school is the research component. Additionally, graduate programs often require 2-3 letters of recommendation from professors who can attest to your research potential. It is very helpful to have at least one letter from a professor you have worked with on a research project.
+</br></br>
+
+### Research Opportunities 
+
+### Dean’s Summer Research Internship (DSRI) -- for first years
+This is an opportunity for first year students in the Faculty of Science to do a 12 week long, paid research internship with a professor in the Faculty of Science. Students with first year standing and a high enough GPA (as of 2024, the cutoff was 11.0/12) are invited to apply sometime near the beginning of the Winter term. 
+
+For more information and the application deadline for the upcoming summer term, see [Dean's Summer Research Internships](https://science.carleton.ca/students/undergraduate-student-summer-research-opportunities/deans-summer-research-internships/)
+</br></br>
+
+### NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA) -- 2nd year + 
+This is an opportunity for domestic undergraduate students with 2nd year standing or above to do a 14-16 week long, paid research internship in computer science, math, engineering, or computer science. These awards are typically quite competitive to get, because each university in Canada only gets a limited allocation of them. They also look great on grad school applications because they are funded by NSERC, which is one of the three major research funding agencies in Canada.
+
+While the official cutoff to apply is a CGPA of B- (7.0/12), I’ve anecdotally heard that NSERC USRA applicants typically need much higher GPAs (A range) to be competitive.
+
+For more information and the application deadline for the upcoming summer term, see [NSERC USRA](https://science.carleton.ca/students/undergraduate-student-summer-research-opportunities/undergraduate-research-awards-program/)
+</br></br>
+
+### Black and Indigenous Summer Research Internships (BISRI) 
+The BISRI award was introduced in 2024, and is a research opportunity specifically intended for undergraduate students in the Faculty of Science who identify as being Black or Indigenous. It is a 12 week, paid internship to work with a Faculty of Science professor. The cutoff to apply is a CGPA of B (8.0/12).
+
+What’s unique about this award is that it can be combined (in theory) with the NSERC USRA award (if the applicant is awarded both), and it is also not limited to domestic students. 1st years who are eligible for both DSRI and BISRI can apply for both awards, though only one of DSRI and BISRI may be accepted.
+
+For more information and the application deadline for the upcoming summer term, see [Black and Indigenous Summer Research Internships](https://science.carleton.ca/students/undergraduate-student-summer-research-opportunities/black-and-indigenous-summer-research-internships/)
+</br></br>
+
+### Internship-Carleton University Research Experience for Undergraduate Students (I-CUREUS) 
+I-CUREUS is an opportunity for undergraduate students to work on a research project, under the supervision of a faculty member, for 150 hours. At the end of the project, students are required to submit a poster, written report, or other method of communicating the research findings. I-CUREUS projects can happen during any academic term; that being said, only one I-CUREUS project can be done by a student per academic year.
+
+For more information, see [I-CUREUS](https://carleton.ca/tls/future-learning-lab/i-cureus/)
+</br></br>
+
+### Research Assistantships (RA-ships)
+Research assistantships are typically not advertised, and are 100% up to the discretion of the professor, who will be paying you out of their research funding. Typically, these are part-time positions during which you assist a faculty member and/or their lab with their research throughout the academic year. 
+
+Most research assistants are graduate students, so undergraduate RAs are somewhat uncommon (though they do exist). I’ve heard of undergraduate students getting research assistantships in 3 main ways:
+1. They previously did a full-time internship with the same professor in the summer, and they are taking on an RA-ship to continue with the same project. (Most common.)
+2. The student has a strong performance in a course taught by the professor and was offered an RA-ship.
+3. The student reached out to the professor and became an RA that way.
+</br></br>
+
+### Honours Project/Thesis
+An honours project (COMP 4905) or thesis (COMP 4906) is an opportunity to work on a self-directed project, under the supervision of a computer science professor, for academic credit. For COMP 4905, the project can be research-based, but this isn’t a strict requirement. For COMP 4906, the project must be research-based. You will probably have much more agency in an honours project or thesis than in a research internship, because the project/thesis is meant to be your work, whereas in a research internship, you will typically be helping a professor (or their lab members) with a project they are already working on.
+
+Note that if you are doing an honours project or thesis, at least one supervisor must be a faculty member from the School of Computer Science. However, you are allowed to be co-supervised by a professor from another department.
+
+Examples of past honours projects and theses can be found [here](https://report-hub.scs.carleton.ca/)
+
+More information about COMP 4905/4906 can be found [here](https://carleton.ca/scs/current-students/undergraduate-students/honours-project-and-directed-studies/honours-project-faq/)
+</br></br>
+
+### How do I find a faculty supervisor?
+If you have already taken a course in an area of research you are interested in, then one method of finding a supervisor is to approach the professor who taught that course and express interest in working on a research project with them. This usually works best if you had a high grade in the course, or alternatively, if you frequently participated in class and the professor was able to get to know you.
+
+Another method of finding a supervisor is to reach out to faculty members whose research you are interested in with a brief email detailing your year standing, background, and relevant experience (if any). After expressing interest in their research, ask if they would be willing to meet with you to discuss further. Professors are very busy, so you might need to contact several professors before you find one who is willing to meet with you. If you can find out when a professor’s office hours are, that might also be a good time to introduce yourself and ask for a meeting, though I would be careful not to overstay my welcome in office hours if I wasn’t enrolled in their course.
+
+Lastly, sometimes faculty members reach out to exceptionally strong students, asking them whether they would be interested in doing a research project. If you get such an email and are curious about research, it may be worth taking the professor up on that offer.
+
+A list of faculty members in Computer Science, as well as their research interests, can be found [here](https://carleton.ca/scs/current-students/undergraduate-students/honours-project-and-directed-studies/honours-project-finding-a-supervisor/)
+
+It is also generally a good idea to look at potential supervisors’ websites before contacting them, because it will give you a much better sense of what kind of research they do and what they expect from students.
+
+
+