EARLY RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES IN THE EARTH SCIENCES THROUGH PAID SUMMER INTERNSHIPS AND LAB WORK

Due to limitations of funding and resources in two-year institutions, students who early identify a career interest in the earth sciences usually have to wait until they transfer to four year colleges or universities to get involved in undergraduate research. A strong relation between the geoscience program at Lone Star College-CyFair (LSC) and the department of earth and atmospheric sciences at the University of Houston (UH) has contributed to the placement of summer paid internships for LSC students who have worked in research projects under the supervision of UH professors. A discussion of funding strategies to strengthen the collaboration between community colleges and universities is presented under a multidisciplinary perspective.

An analysis of the extent of research that community colleges themselves can offer to their science students is presented, based on student lab working experiences and involvement in science fairs and use of cyberinfrastructure.