Geoscience Education and Inclusion
UNDERGRADUATE
TWINNING PROGRAM
About
Program Overview
The GEI Twinning Program is a year-long research experience aimed at fostering participation of undergraduates from minoritized communities in subduction zone science and hazards research. Funding students to focus year-round on research differentiates our program from typical research internships and thus increases the likelihood of lasting student impact. Engagement in funded, mentored research experiences is directly tied to increased retention of underserved students in the STEM field. Because the program supports students year-round, students can focus on their research. The focus of this program is a “twinning” model where the student participates in a research project involving more than one institution. The student is thus introduced to different mentors and a mode of scientific collaboration that closely mimics real-world experiences. Through experiential learning, undergraduate students gain valuable, high-impact research experience and build their oral and written scientific communication skills.
Each student will have a well-defined project and two mentors, one who is the Project Director and one who is considered the ‘Twin’ mentor. The Project Director is the one who proposed the research project and who will lead the project. The Project Director will be the primary mentor to the student. The Twin mentor can be a known collaborator to the Project Director or simply someone from the student’s home institution willing to support the student throughout the program.
This year-long program will provide students:
- An opportunity to improve their understanding of the earth through solving complex, real-world problems using multi-disciplinary approaches.
- The chance to deepen their understanding of the knowledge and skills needed by professionals in the earth sciences.
- Ample support from CRESCENT, their Twin mentors, and their cohort of student interns.
- A monthly stipend for 11 months of work (academic months: ~$1050; summer months: ~$2800).
- Travel funds to visit the Project Director’s or Twin Mentor’s institution for up to 5 weeks over the summer, housing will be included.
- Travel funds to attend a major scientific conference.
Program Outline
Initial activities: When the program starts in the fall, each student participates in research-adjacent skill-building curriculum with their CRESCENT cohort such as a programming bootcamp, scientific writing, and oral communication skills training, all of which will be delivered online. Mentors will complete a training module in culturally aware mentoring practices.
Year-long research: During the academic year, students will carry out independent work at their home institution supervised by their Project Director and Twin mentor. They will be encouraged to organize weekly calls between their two mentors to discuss research progress. Students will engage with their cohort through monthly activities and asynchronous collaboration tools such as Slack.
Summer activities: During the summer, students will have option to travel to either of their mentors’ institution to continue the research project. Students will present their research at the virtual Twinning Symposium and submit a Short Research Contribution for publication on CRESCENT’s website.
Post-summer activities: Students will be encouraged and funded to present their research results at the CRESCENT meeting and at disciplinary society meetings.
About
2024-2025 Twinning Program
