What is “CURI”?
The St. Olaf Collaborative Undergraduate Research and Inquiry (CURI) program provides opportunities for St. Olaf students of all academic disciplines to gain an in-depth understanding of a particular subject through working closely with a St. Olaf faculty member in a scholarly or artistic setting.
CURI promotes collaborations between students and faculty during the academic year and the summer, both on- and off-campus. Throughout the experience, students gain insight and learn about how scholarship is performed in the discipline of their choice. The program is also a good time for students to reflect and further evaluate where their skills, interests, and values best fit with their future professional endeavors.
CURI’s summer research program involves 80-90 students who work together with faculty on faculty-initiated scholarly and artistic projects. Each year the project results are presented during the CURI Fall Showcase in October. Browse our multimedia database of past projects to learn more about the wide variety of work in which St. Olaf students have engaged.
Why undergraduate research and inquiry? What is the difference between research and inquiry? What will I learn through undergraduate research with CURI? Who is eligible for CURI programming? How do I find out about research opportunities at St. Olaf? How do I find out about research opportunities outside of St. Olaf? What is expected of me as an undergraduate research student? Will I be paid? Can I take a summer school course and do research? Can I receive academic credit for mentored undergraduate research?
There are many different models for collaborative faculty-student work. Many people imagine scientists in lab coats testing hypotheses when they hear the word “research,” yet scholars across the natural and social sciences, humanities and arts all conduct research, guided by the conventions of their own fields. “Inquiry” signals that we recognize and celebrate the variety of rigorous exploration, investigation and creative processes pursued by artists and scholars, beyond hypothesis testing and empirical data gathering.
Our intended learning outcomes include:
A student interested in applying for the summer CURI program must be enrolled as a St. Olaf student and be a rising sophomore, junior, or senior. There is no GPA requirement that must be met in order to apply for the program, but a student’s academic record will be considered during the selection process. All currently enrolled students are eligible for academic year funding.
know of students who have completed research in the past that the inquiring student
could get in touch with.
Summer: Yes – students are paid taxable wages; each project application has details about pay rate and hours. Full time summer CURI students also receive housing support if they live on campus.
School Year: CURI-sponsored projects are paid at the same rate as summer students, but these students do not also receive academic credit for their work. Conversely, students enrolled in 396 (DUR) or 398 (IR) courses receive academic credit but are not paid wages.
The answer depends on how many hours and weeks a student is doing research during the summer, but is often no. Students should not take a summer school course if they are doing full-time research (30-40 hours per week) during a summer session. If a student is interested in taking a St. Olaf summer school course while employed as a summer researcher, the student should work with their faculty supervisor to write a proposal that describes how the student will meet both the course and research demands. The proposal is submitted to the CURI Director, who will confer with the supervising faculty member before approving the request.
Yes. During the academic year, you can enroll in a Directed Undergraduate Research (DUR) courses with a variety of departments to earn credit, or enroll in Independent Study or Independent Research courses with an individual faculty member for credit. Center for Interdisciplinary Research (CIR) participants also earn credit. Summer and academic year CURI researchers, however, do not earn credit.