What to Expect: Summer Research Internship

Overview

The first week of the McNair summer internship will be primarily overview, introductions, community building, expectations and scholar concerns.

Workshops and Weekly Meetings

There will be regular McNair weekly class meetings on Wednesdays. Scholars will have time to talk about their work and comment on their peers' projects. Workshops, seminars and training activities will be held during these weekly class meetings, leaving much of the time for scholars to do research, write and meet with their faculty mentors.

McNair Conferences

Depending on the availability of funds and scheduling, McNair scholars are encouraged to participate in regional and national McNair research conferences.

Graduate School Visits and Travel

Most visits to graduate schools will be conducted as a group. Requests for individual visits to selected schools will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Research Symposium

The PSU McNair Research Symposium will be held at the end of the summer program. Scholars will formally present their research to an audience of peers, faculty mentors, family, and friends.

Awards banquet

There will be an awards banquet to celebrate scholars and their faculty mentors during the first week of fall term.

Summer Research Internship Guidelines

Overview

Scholars must be engaged in actual academic research. Faculty mentors are expected to provide and help scholars develop projects that allow them to learn the research process in their fields. Mentors are to monitor and supervise the research projects so that scholars experiencing difficulties can get feedback in a timely fashion. Ideally, the scholar will have a finished  research paper that reflects his or her understanding of all phases of the research process.

Scholars are required to (a) prepare a draft of their research proposal and an annotated bibliography or reference list before the summer component begins; (b) submit a final abstract during the fifth week of the program; (c) make a formal presentation at the McNair Research Symposium; and (d) submit a final completed research paper signed by their mentor no later than the first week of fall quarter.

Final Abstract

The abstract should be a clear and concise statement of the research question, methodology, findings and conclusions. Scholars are required to submit several drafts of their abstracts over the summer, and final abstract prior to the McNair symposium. Scholar’s final abstracts will be included in the Symposium booklet.

The Final Research Paper

Since each discipline employs different techniques and formats for writing research papers or reports, scholars should consult faculty mentors prior to writing their research papers or reports. Mentors should provide students with guidelines regarding the proper format and form of documentation for the research paper in their particular disciplines. The research paper is expected to be at least 15 pages, excluding the title page, appendices, and bibliography.