Research is an integral part of the college experience for many students. Indeed, this is one of the main goals of college, to let students know what it’s like to be on the forefront of discovery, where the answers can’t just be found by flipping to the back of the textbook.
Different colleges have different ways for students to get involved with research. In this article, we’re going to look at how UT Austin does it in their College of Natural Sciences: the Freshman Research Initiative (FRI). We’re going to cover what the FRI is, how it works, who it’s for, and whether or not it’s something you should look out for as you’re applying to colleges. Let’s get started!
Understanding the Freshman Research Initiative (FRI)
Operated by the College of Natural Sciences (CNS) within UT Austin, the mission of FRI is to introduce freshman students to research. These students often have limited exposure to research previously, and have a harder time finding research positions at some schools, as professors tend to favor upperclassmen.
This makes sense for the professors; after all, upperclassmen are slightly more mature, and are more likely to have taken lab courses which give them the kinds of skills they need to perform scientific research. This can make it challenging for freshmen to find positions however.
By enabling freshmen to find a lab position early, FRI seeks to encourage them to pursue a career in STEM, or to go on to higher education in these fields. Higher degrees tend to revolve around research, and getting experience with this early helps set students up for a long and successful STEM career.
How FRI Works
FRI works by breaking students into smaller groups, called research streams. Each of these streams hosts around 35 students, and are organized by subfield. All research performed by a university is incredibly niche, and students are encouraged to find a subfield which matches their own academic interests.
Research streams consist of a two course sequence led by a faculty researcher. These introduce you to doing laboratory research; techniques, safety procedures, data collection and analysis, and then start you on the path of actually doing the work in a laboratory. There is an optional summer component as well, for students who want to continue their investigations beyond the end of the school year.
The first semester focuses more on theory, while the second lets you begin working in a laboratory properly. If you continue for the summer as a volunteer researcher, you will receive even more independence, and be afforded more trust in the lab.
In your second year, you have the option to continue and deepen your involvement in the research stream. This is not mandatory, but many students choose to do so. This is a semester-long course offered in fall, which lets you both continue performing research, and helps put it in the broader context of work being done in the field.
While this is the end of the official program, many students continue their involvement with research. Some serve as FRI peer mentors, helping introduce a new round of students to research. Others continue with their existing research mentors and projects, expanding upon the skills they learned through FRI. Others still join new projects, with the lab techniques they know serving as the foundation to build upon in other labs.
Not all students do continue with research, but FRI has proved very successful at getting new students into research, and at helping underrepresented students increase their participation, both in STEM as a whole and in research projects.
Is FRI Right For You?
We first need to point out that while FRI is limited to a single college at a single university, it is not the only program of this type. While we are going to be focusing on FRI as an example, what we explore here holds true for research opportunities at many different universities, and you can benefit in your own way from all of them.
The first consideration is whether you intend, or are possibly interested in, getting a higher degree in the sciences, or going on to another advanced degree. These programs are very competitive for admission, and one thing all of them like to see is students with research experience.
This program is perfectly suited for this, as it gets you involved with research early, and gives you options to continue and heighten your involvement throughout undergrad. Many students have difficulty beginning research as freshmen, as they lack familiarity with professors in order to ask for positions in labs. FRI handles this for you, and bridges the first awkward gap of finding a research position.
FRI is limited in that it’s only open to students in the College of Natural Sciences. While other students at UT Austin are encouraged to pursue research, there are not equivalent research programs in the other colleges. Further, pre med students who are majoring in a subject outside of the sciences (an increasingly popular option) are not able to take advantage of this program either, though they may still pursue research opportunities with professors independently.
If you are applying to one of the majors in UT Austin’s College of Natural Sciences, FRI may be worth mentioning in your essay about the major. This essay should focus on the major itself more than the school, but showing how UT Austin’s opportunities exactly match your needs for the major is a great way to demonstrate to admissions officers your suitability for the field in question.
If you want to pursue the sciences but for one reason or another don’t want to pursue research at all, then this may be a reason to consider other programs instead of UT Austin. While we do think this is a great opportunity for students, we understand that not everyone is excited by academic research, and may want to involve themselves in other aspects of life at university.
Final Thoughts
Research is a key part of college for many students, but getting involved in the first place can be a major hurdle. Programs like UT Austin’s Freshman Research Initiative make research far more accessible to students, and we greatly support this endeavor.
We hope that this article has given you a solid introduction to this program, and given you a sense of whether or not it is a good fit for you. Of course, UT Austin isn’t the only college with research initiatives for students. If you want help researching your dream college, or have any other questions about the application process, schedule a free consultation with us today. We’ve helped hundreds of students get into their top colleges, and are always happy to hear from you.
