Pictured are some of the animal and food science students in the UGRS program.
Undergraduates Gain Experience in Animal and Food Science Research By Ranjith Ramanathan
Research programs are essential for gaining real-world hands-on experience through cutting-edge research. These skills can be invaluable to a student’s future career. Research experience helps to reinforce the concepts students learn in the classroom. Additionally students receive the opportunity to attend conferences and develop communication skills. Several of our students have presented their research at national conferences. Undergraduate students can be involved in university-wide research programs at Oklahoma State
28
University and also the Undergraduate Research Scholar (UGRS) program within the department of animal and food sciences.
mentors who specialize in their field of interest. In addition, students can work in a lab if faculty members have research support.
The university-wide programs include Freshman Research Scholar, Wentz, and Niblack. The Freshman Research Scholar program is for incoming students, while Wentz and Niblack are for the students who have completed a minimum of 12 credit hours at OSU and achieved a minimum 3.0 GPA. In university-wide programs, the students are responsible for finding their own research mentors, but the UGRS program assists students in finding
Most students work with faculty and graduate student mentors. Mentors design research projects for students and also help train them to work in a lab. The majority of the students in the UGRS program had limited lab experience when they joined. Hence, a student may shadow a graduate student to gain necessary laboratory skills during the first few months. Once they gain confidence, they are involved with a smaller project before
