TURC Junior Scholars

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The Tulsa Undergraduate Research Challenge Junior Scholars program provides opportunities for local high school students to gain the kind of intensive, hands-on research experience that is usually reserved for graduate students. Each Junior Scholar works closely with a TU professor in the summer terms, usually on a research team with TURC scholars.

Past research opportunities

Research opportunities for past summer programs have spanned a range of disciplines and involved a variety of time commitment. Here are some recent topics:

Viral diseases and genome characterization of viruses
Biochemistry of disease
Reaction discovery and development, organic chemistry
Chemical compatibility of 3D printed parts, 3D printing
Design and development of devices to aid persons with disabilities
Experimental nanotechnology
Exploration of the publishing world while digging into the works of James Joyce
Art, gaming, sports, writing, and creativity in program development in TU’s Oklahoma Center for Humanities
Stability of sports supplements

Application Process

The TURC Junior Scholars program does not charge tuition, and the professors who mentor Junior Scholars do so as a voluntary form of community service.

TURC Junior Scholars are not eligible for summer campus housing, so the program is open only to students who live in the Tulsa area. Applicants to the program should not have graduated from high school by the time they would undertake their research. Typically, students participate in the program during the summer between their junior and senior year of high school.

The application process for the Junior TURC program is different from many other programs for high school students. Rather than applying directly to the program, the student “applies” to the faculty mentor who is leading the project by sending a short email expressing interest to the faculty mentor, having a virtual meeting to discuss the project and logistics, and determining if it will be a good fit for both the student and the mentor. If so, the mentor then passes along the student information to the TURC program director and we get the paperwork underway to have them officially in the program. Interested high school students can find the contact information for faculty through the project directory, which notes which projects are open to Junior TURC Scholars in the table of contents using a “^” after the project title.

More Information

Please email any questions regarding the Junior TURC program to gabriel-leblanc@utulsa.edu

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