The Long-term Undergraduate Research Experience (LURE) model for the mathematical sciences is a collaboration between the mathematics faculty at Central Michigan University, Coppin State University, Olin College, and the University of Richmond. The LURE model emphasizes the early recruitment of undergraduates to mathematical research and the cultivation of interest in the mathematical sciences. It builds upon the success of the apprentice model often used in the physical and life sciences, wherein scientists routinely engage first- and second-year undergraduates in research and then continue to mentor these students until they are prepared to pursue graduate degrees. Specifically, LURE recruits students early in their undergraduate careers and pairs them with faculty who serve as mentors throughout a two-year research experience in the mathematical sciences. Through closely supervised research and independent study activities spanning two summers (ten weeks each) and two academic years, students experience all steps in a research project, from background reading to the professional presentation of results. This allows undergraduates to be involved with mathematics research experiences that are more sophisticated than possible with traditional single-summer research experiences.
LURE also provides support and training for faculty to mentor undergraduate research projects. Over the four years of the grant, LURE will engage a total of 80 undergraduates and 28 faculty from a diverse collection of institutions (a comprehensive university, a historically black university, a gender-balanced engineering college, a selective liberal arts college, and an all-women's college). The diversity of our collaboration increases the transferability of our model and findings to a wide range of institutions. LURE will proactively recruit women and minorities, with specific aspects of the program having been developed in consultation with literature on cultivating the success of underrepresented groups. We expect that the LURE program will increase the number of undergraduates electing mathematics courses beyond institutional requirements, the number of undergraduates and faculty members engaging in undergraduate research experiences, and the number of undergraduates feeling prepared to pursue graduate work. A yearly LURE conference will showcase the results of the teams at all participating institutions, serve as a dissemination outlet for the apprentice model applied to mathematics, and provide an opportunity for assessment, reflection, and programmatic improvements.
