Since its establishment as Case Western Reserve University’s centralized office of undergraduate research in December 2004, Support of Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors, also known as SOURCE, has focused on both students and faculty. This dual focus has allowed us to become a significant presence on campus, because attention and service to both allow us to expand opportunities and prepare students for their next step after CWRU.
Our mission is to assist and prepare students to engage in research and creative endeavors. SOURCE also guides and supplements institutional, departmental and divisional efforts and programs.
Case Western Reserve understands the educational benefit of undergraduate research. We do not see research as an “extra,” but as an experience that all students who want to participate, will participate.
While there are many summer undergraduate research opportunities across the country and even abroad, Cleveland’s University Circle provides CWRU undergraduates with a breadth of experiences both during the academic year and summer. Indeed, our students take advantage of this research and scholarly environment. More than 85% participate in research with faculty by the time they graduate.
SOURCE encourages first-year students to begin research as early as after mid-term break.
Most weeks, SOURCE provides an information session, All About Finding Research and Creative Endeavors, that informs students how to go about finding research on and around the campus during the academic year and everywhere during the summer. The session includes guidance on communicating to faculty, resume tips and more. SOURCE encourages all first-year students to attend one of these sessions before making an individual appointment. The All About Finding Research and Creative Endeavors session covers the common concerns of finding research with groups of students at once, allowing us to focus individual appointments on specific exploration questions and search concerns.
For students who want to participate in undergraduate research, CWRU will ensure they will.
Additionally, SOURCE provides many research educational seminars and programs that meet the different needs of students who are beginning research to those who have delved deep into a project. These programs include:
- Responsible Conduct of Research (Research Ethics for Undergraduate Researchers)
- Communication Skills for Research and Beyond
- Thinking Like a Researcher
- How to Make and Present an Academic Poster
- All About Applying to Graduate School
- All About Applying to Medical School
- Many more!
SOURCE celebrates our students’ research accomplishments with Intersections: SOURCE Symposium and Poster Session. Intersections takes place three times each year, in April, August and December. Intersections is one of the best opportunities for first-year students to hear undergraduate researchers present their work and speak with them directly. Intersections also captures in one place a snapshot of what research looks like in most all our academic areas.
SOURCE also celebrates our undergraduate researchers by providing travel funding to them when they present their work at professional association conferences around the country.
Finally, SOURCE provides funding for summer research. In any given summer, CWRU has 15 to 20 summer undergraduate research programs sponsored by departments across the university. As the centralized office for undergraduate research, SOURCE has summer funding available for students in all areas of research and creative projects.
From your first year when you may not know what research is and what it entails to your third or fourth year when you are presenting your work, SOURCE will be here for you.