Danielle Gray, assistant dean of academic affairs and diversity in Princeton's Graduate School, discusses summer research projects with Jason Russell, a junior at Claflin University.
Below left: Raymond Steath, a senior at Prairie View A&M
University, explains his project to, from right: Kiri Sailiata, a
senior at Macalester College; Tanti Loe, a junior at Smith College; and
Erika O'Bannon, a junior at Boston College.
Photos: John Jameson
Before this summer, college junior Keith Lucas was already thinking
about graduate school. But he just wasn't sure whether the lifestyle
was for him.
Lucas, a philosophy major at the College of New Jersey, is one of 11
undergraduates from around the country selected to spend this summer on
Princeton University's campus in a program intended to give them a
taste of life as a graduate student.
After several weeks conducting research with Princeton graduate
students and faculty members and living on campus with other highly
motivated undergraduates, Lucas said, "I'm more than likely to go to
graduate school due to this experience."
The students are enrolled in the Princeton Summer Undergraduate Research Experience,
a nine-week program for undergraduates who express a serious interest
in pursuing a Ph.D. and following a career in college or university
teaching and research. Sponsored by Princeton's Graduate School, the
program is intended to prepare students to make competitive
applications to research doctoral programs. Undergraduates who are
minorities, who are from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds
or who are from liberal arts colleges are especially encouraged to
apply. Students receive a stipend and a travel allowance.
Each student works with a Princeton faculty member, either as a
research assistant in a laboratory project in the sciences and
engineering or as an advisee in editing and writing research papers in
the humanities and social sciences. The students have an opportunity to
give several brief oral presentations about their work during the
course of the summer and, at the end, must write a final paper and
deliver a 20-minute speech about their research.
Raymond Steath, a senior at Prairie View A&M University, has
worked with Edward Eigen, a lecturer in Princeton's School of
Architecture, on a historical and graphic portrayal of a major fire at
the Houses of Parliament in London in 1834. "[Professor Eigen] was able
to provide a tremendous amount of information," Steath said. "And he
was very efficient with helping me to conduct research at Firestone
Library."
He added that the Princeton experience has made him "100 percent
convinced" that he wants to attend graduate school in architecture.
Other students have worked on projects concerning discrimination in the
low-wage labor market and African-American voting rights.
In addition to meeting weekly with faculty members to discuss research
design, methods and progress, the students have attended sessions on
graduate school application, financial aid, graduate student life and
academic life, in general, organized by Danielle Gray, assistant dean
of academic affairs and diversity in the Graduate School.
Participants also attended the Leadership Alliance Summer Research
Symposium July 29-31 in Massachusetts, where they made presentations,
joined in workshops and participated in networking and career-building
sessions. The alliance is a consortium of 31 leading research and
teaching institutions, including the eight Ivy League schools,
dedicated to improving the participation of underserved and
underrepresented students in graduate studies and research professions.
Kiri Sailiata, a senior American studies major from Macalester College,
said the Princeton program has boosted her self-assurance and broadened
the range of graduate schools to which she'll apply. "This program has
increased my confidence that I will perform well at institutions like
these," she said.
