The Field Museum Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)

The Field Museum REU program will train a cohort of
at least eight students in biodiversity-related research in a 10-week
summer program. Each participant will undertake an independent
research project supervised by a museum scientist in a discipline such
as taxonomy and systematics, phylo/ biogeography, paleontology,
molecular phylogenetics, or conservation. Students will experience
biological diversity through the use of the museum’s collections in
their research, and will be trained in project-relevant techniques and
equipment such as the scanning electron microscope, various light
microscopy set-ups, and equipment in the Pritzker DNA lab. A six-week
course in phylogenetic systematics run concurrently with intern
projects will provide a common theoretical framework for their
research. REU students will receive an introduction to the
Encyclopedia of Life in Field Museum’s Biodiversity Synthesis Center.
At the conclusion of the summer students will present their research
results to their peers and museum scientists at the Undergraduate
Research Symposium. Providing equal opportunity in
biodiversity-related research is an important goal of the program (http://fieldmuseum.org/about/c-r-research-experiences-undergraduates-reu).