Community college students conduct research at UTA

Studies have shown that undergraduate students who participate in research activities under the guidance of a faculty mentor are more likely to finish college. That’s one of the many reasons universities like The University of Texas at Arlington are increasing their investment into undergraduate research.

Such research opportunities are not offered at many two-year colleges. To help bridge this gap, Jianzhong Su, professor of mathematics at UTA, is piloting a new program where students from the North Lake campus of Dallas College can come to UT Arlington to participate in a paid research opportunity with his department.

“This really is a program like none other,” said Dr. Su. “Every two weeks for one year, community college students come spend half a day with our distinguished faculty conducting hands-on research in the field of computational neuroscience.”

While at UTA, participating students learn how to conduct mathematics research from two faculty mentors. They also receive guidance from a faculty mentor at North Lake who helps ensure they feel supported and encouraged during their educational journey. Each student receives $6,000 for their time and effort conducting research.

The program at UTA is part of a larger initiative run by Los Angeles Pierce College, a two-year public community college with about 20,000 students. Pierce College received a $400,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to embed community college students into research labs in mathematics departments at four-year research institutions.

Math was chosen as the focus because research opportunities in mathematics are rare for two-year college students, causing many individuals to miss out on much-needed and well-paid STEM careers, like those in quantum information science.

In addition to UTA, the other research facilities involved in this grant are the University of California at Los Angeles; George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia; and Inter American University of Puerto Rico in San German. Students will be researching topics such as theoretical math concepts and the math related to the spread of contagious diseases.

Data show that many community college enrollees are non-traditional students who attend school while juggling full-time jobs and/or family responsibilities. This combined with the fact that most community colleges are more focused on classroom instruction than research is one of the main reasons students who start at two-year schools rarely get a chance to experience laboratory research as a potential career option. The ultimate goal of this paid research opportunity is to broaden STEM education for students.

“Last year was our first year of the two-year research program, and it really went great,” said Su. “One of the students has already made plans to transfer to UTA to complete a four-year degree. I’m not sure if the student will major in mathematics, but we’re thrilled to be able to help spark more Maverick researchers.”

Next up for the Su and his team will be applying for additional funding, as the initial two-year grant expires at the end of 2025. “We’re optimistic about our chances to receive additional funding for this pilot project,” said Su. “NSF has been very encouraging about regarding the early successes from our program.”