CURE Training Institute

CURE Institutes have been offered across the country by CUREnet2. Co-PI of CUREnet2, Dr. Sara Brownell, will be facilitating the University of Arizona’s CURE Training Institute.

This opportunity for University of Arizona instructors is supported by Arizona's Technology and Research Initiative Fund (TRIF) and a U.S. Department of Education Title III HSI STEM grant (Project CREAR). It provides initial incentives and training to support instructors in designing CUREs for first-year students. A minimum of five teams will be selected to receive funding to support the development of a CURE.

Timing: The Institute will take place through a two and a half day in-person session after the end of classes in May. Teams will learn about and use evidence-based instructional strategies to develop plans, instructional materials, and assessment tools for integrating a research project into a CURE course.

Facilitator: Dr. Sara Brownell, Associate Professor at ASU and Co-PI for CUREnet2, facilitated both the introductory workshop and the CURE Training Institute for 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. See Sara's bio under the introductory workshop description.

Important Dates:

• March 2024 – Introductory Q&A session for interested faculty and staff
• May 2024 –    Complete pre-survey.
• May 2024 –    2.5 day in-person CURE Training Institute
• June 2024 –    Funding application deadline
• June 2024 –    Funding recipients notified

CURE Training Institute Dates:

• May 2024                   CURE Training Institute 
• June - August 2024    Develop CURE and draft syllabus
• September 2024        Submit CURE syllabus for spring course approval 
• Spring, Summer, or
  Fall 2025                     Teach the CURE course; evaluator conducts two in-class observations
• Each semester            One learning community meeting

“CUREs offer several advantages over research internships - they can enroll many more students and they are accessible to all students who enroll, not just the few who stand out in class, who are confident enough to approach faculty directly, or who have personal or programmatic connections that help them get access to research.” – CUREnet

Early undergraduate research experience (URE) in social sciences and humanities leads to significant gains in analytical and critical thinking skills for first- and second year students, especially for first generation students (Ishiyama, 2002). UREs, particularly during the academic year, lead to increased interest and persistence in STEM, especially for underrepresented minorities (Gregerman, 2017; Hurtado, 2009; Lopatto, 2004; Russell, 2007; Schultz et al., 2011; Rodenbusch et al., 2016). However, the traditional 1-on-1 apprenticeship model prevalent at UA limits the number of students with these experiences to a select few. CUREs have been emerging as an innovative approach to incorporating authentic research into entry-level courses (Auchincloss et al., 2014).

From CUREnet website: CURE vs. Inquiry

Inquiry instruction involves many of the features of CUREs. Similar to CUREs, inquiry instruction involves students in asking and answering scientific questions, analyzing relevant data, and making and defending arguments. Both forms of instruction aim to develop students' scientific expertise, especially their ability to engage in scientific practices. In inquiry courses, students' work may be novel, but a stakeholder outside the classroom is unlikely to be interested in the results. CUREs are distinctive in offering students opportunities to make discoveries that are of interest to stakeholders outside the classroom. CURE students have been coauthors on papers, have contributed results to research repositories, and have generated data used as preliminary results in grant proposals (see the resources below for details and examples). Because CUREs are usually integrated with a faculty member's ongoing research, CUREs are also limited in offering students complete freedom to ask and answer their own questions, as students may be able to do in an inquiry project.

Resources

• Gentile et al. (2017). Undergraduate Research Experiences for STEM. Link
• Dolan (2017). Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences: Current knowledge and future directions Link
• Auchincloss et al. (2014). Assessment of Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences: A Meeting Report. Link

• See other examples of CUREs at: https://serc.carleton.edu/curenet/collection.html

• See a list of examples of CUREs in the social sciences and humanities in this Google Doc. 

The fourth annual introductory workshop on CUREs was held on March 3, 2023 with a video of guest speaker Dr. Sara Brownell who also serves as the instructor for the CURE Training Institute. To see a replay of the workshop, please click here.

Replay WOrkshop 

Upon watching the workshop, please click here to complete this brief Introductory CURE Workshop Survey.

See other examples of CUREs at: https://serc.carleton.edu/curenet/collection.html

See a short list of examples of CUREs in the social sciences and humanities in this Google Doc. 

For more information, please contact UndergradResearch@arizona.edu . 

Dr. Sara Brownell is an Associate Professor in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University.  She received a B.S. in Biology from Cornell University, a M.S. in Biology from The Scripps Research Institute, and a M.A. in Education and a Ph.D. in Biology, both from Stanford University.   Sara is a neuroscientist turned discipline-based education researcher whose research focuses on how we can make undergraduate biology more accessible, diverse, and inclusive. Her research areas are broad and include assessing the impact of course-based undergraduate research experiences, exploring the experiences of students with covert identities in active learning classrooms, and helping to reduce students' perceived conflict between religion and evolution.  Sara's work has been highlighted in numerous news outlets including The New York Times, Scientific American, and CNN.  She is the proud recipient of the 2020 LGBTQ+ Educator of the Year award from the National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals.  

Those developing CUREs are also invited to apply for funding that can be used for supplies, undergraduate or graduate student support, and/or other costs associated with their course. Please see the "Application Details and Instructions" for more information about applying for funding.

Note - As this year’s Institute is funded by TRIF and a U.S. Department of Education Title III HSI STEM grant (Project CREAR), proposals must incorporate skill development preparing students for the workforce in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM), and health fields. Please describe in your application how your course will train students in skill development needed for Arizona's STEM and health industries. 

Each awarded team will receive the following:

• $5000 plus ERE or $6600 to develop and submit the CURE syllabus for course approval and teach the course during spring, summer, and/or fall 2024.
• Individual consultations of up to 4 hours per team with the consultant during course development. 

• Teams of faculty, graduate students, adjunct instructors, and post docs may apply together.
• If instructors apply as a team, the award will be distributed according to the preference of the team.
• Instructors at any level, including faculty, post-docs, research scientists, graduate students, and staff can apply.
• Instructors who are new to CURE instruction and who plan to teach a CURE course aimed at first- or second-year students will be prioritized.
• Preference will be given to teams with at least one permanent instructor who intends to continue teaching at the University of Arizona or an Arizona community college. 
• Applications will require a signature from the department head. Graduate student applicants will require the signature of a faculty mentor or advisor.

• Note - As this year’s Institute is funded by TRIF and the Title III HSI STEM grant (Project CREAR), proposals must incorporate skill development preparing students for the workforce in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and health fields. Please describe in your application how your course will train students in skill development needed for Arizona's STEM and health industries. 

The CURE Training Institute’s Leadership Team and Selection Committee: 

• Kimberly Sierra-Cajas, Director of Undergraduate Research & Inquiry, Office of Societal Impact / RII
• John O'Neil, Vice President of Research Development, Research, Innovation, and Impact (RII)
• Jen Fields, Director, Office of Societal Impact / RII
• Lisa Elfring, Associate Vice Provost, Office of Instruction and Assessment
• Rebecca Gomez, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Student Success, College of Science
• Jim Hunt, Assistant Dean, Career and Academic Services, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences 
• Zelieann Craig, Assistant Dean for Research, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

• BEFORE: Watch the 2023 Introductory CURE Workshop
• DURING: Actively participate in all sessions and complete Roadcheck surveys at the end of each day
• AFTER: Teach the CURE course, utilize an evaluation tool suggested by the evaluation team for course participants, allow the evaluation team to observe a course session, participate in two interviews with the evaluator, and attend office hours with Dr. Brownell for feedback on CURE design and final syllabus. 

2024 Application Deadline TBA

To complete the application process, you will need to prepare your responses to the application questions ahead of time and secure the appropriate signatures on the required forms.  A description of the application process is below. *Reminder: the primary target audience for the CURE must be first and second year students.

Up to two instructors may be included in the project. Faculty mentors or advisors for graduate students are not included in this limit.

Feel free to explore existing CUREs for project ideas. CUREnet suggests the following sources:

• CUREnet examples
• Community College Undergraduate Research Institute
• Freshman Research Initiatives:
  • University of Texas Austin - STEM CUREs
  • University of Maryland College Park - natural and social sciences and humanities
  • Binghamton University -  natural and social sciences and engineering
• Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) Program - engineering projects with some interdisciplinary projects involving natural and social sciences
• Education journals

A. Complete the online application. Note: The maximum character length has been increased for the 2023 application. Be prepared to:

• Include contact information on up to two instructors within the project team.
• Graduate students – Be prepared to list a faculty member to advise you on the project.
• Include a brief bio for each instructor.  (Max 1300 characters)

• Briefly describe your team’s motivation for applying and a short description of the idea for a CURE course in such a way that those outside your discipline will understand what you plan to accomplish. Describe your or your team’s idea for the research project you plan to incorporate into a CURE course, the intended learning outcomes, and the audience for which the course will be offered. Describe how your team envisions students being able to make discoveries relevant to stakeholders and describe which stakeholders. The project should be based on a real need with genuine stakeholders who will be interested in the results. (Max 3500 characters)

• Note - As this year’s Institute is funded by TRIF, proposals must incorporate skill development preparing students for the workforce in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and health fields. Please describe in your application how your course will train students in skill development needed for Arizona's STEM and health industries. 

• A tentative outline of the course. (Max 3000 characters)

• Include the following information in your application:
  • The course catalog number you intend to utilize to teach the CURE (e.g. CALS 297E, TLS 299, etc.)
  • A signature by the department head or college administrator indicating approval for the course catalog number to be utilized to offer the CURE within their department or college.
  • Whether you are planning to develop a new course or to convert an existing course / course section into a CURE.
  • The planned number of course units (1-unit introductory CURE, 3-units, or variable units)
  • Whether the course will be offered in-person or online

B. Upload the following document(s) at the end of the application:

1. The Department / College Signature Form – Download this form and secure the appropriate signature. 
2. Graduate students: A signature from your faculty advisor is required on the Participation Acknowledgement Form or if not applicable, a faculty mentor who will advise on the project. 
3. Postdoctoral researchers and staff instructors: A signature from your supervisor is required on the Participation Acknowledgement Form. 

Undergraduate students can gain early research skills during their first two years while earning academic credit through a variety of course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) at the University.

Listed below are the six teams and the six courses they began offering in the 2020-2021 academic year.

Dr. Corey Knox, College of Education
TLS299 - Intro to Education Research Methods: STEM Education, College Access & Equity

Offered Spring 2021

In this 2-credit course for undergraduates (all majors), you will learn about and apply social science research methods to design and conduct a group research project. Students will design and implement surveys, and interviews to investigate your own and your fellow students' experiences and views of college access, inclusion, and equity.
 

Dr. Wendy Moore and Raine Ikagawa, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
CALS297E - Discovering Biodiversity

Offered in Spring semesters 

The Sonoran Desert Region is home to more species of native bees than any other region of the world. In this course our main research goal will be focused on discovering and documenting the diversity of Tucson's native bees. This course provides an introductory research experience that will immerse students in the process of discovering, describing, and classifying biodiversity. We will explore biodiversity research using cutting edge laboratory, field, museum (curatorial), and bioinformatics techniques. The data we collect will be published and shared freely with both the scientific community and the general public. Course prerequisites: MCB 181 R&L, ECOL 182 R&L
 

Dr. Janet Nicol, College of Science
PSY197E - Engaging in Psychology Research

Offered Spring 2021, 7-week course

This is a hands-on course that provides students with an authentic research experience. The class will work together with the instructor on a novel research project involving humor and well-being.

Dr. Martin Pepper, College of Science
GEOS197E - Experiences in Geochronology

Offered Fall 2021

This course is for first and second-year students who would like to gain experience in cutting edge research. The class will use lasers to drill through minerals sending this material into mass spectrometry to gather new information on the regional geology around Arizona. Students will learn the basic principles of geology both globally and locally, radiogenic isotopes applied to geochronology, lab techniques for gathering new information and how to present their results in a poster.

Dr. Alise Ponsero and Dr. Bonnie Hurwitz, College of Engineering and CALS
BAT102 - Data Science Heroes: An Undergraduate Research Experience in Open Data Science Practices

Offered in Fall semesters

Despite a growing demand for data scientists, university training in science ethics, code licensing and best reproducibility practices are not generalized for undergraduates. In this CURE, students will conduct an assessment of the current landscape and the evolution of accessibility, documentation and reproducibility practices in bioinformatics. The CURE will be a two-credit course in the Department of Biosystems Engineering accessible to students from any college. In this CURE, students will learn and reflect upon best practices for open science and science reproducibility. Several practical skills will also be developed such as science communication, as well as the use of computational tools for code versioning and documentation.

Dr. Jessica Braithwaite and Dr. Frank Gonzalez, College of Social & Behavioral Sciences
POL297B - The Origins of Data in Politics and Policy

Offered Fall 2021

This course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) will introduce students to the main ways in which scholars and other experts in the fields of political science and public policy obtain and analyze data relevant to politics and policy in variety of contexts across the world. Beyond discussing the origins of data analyzed in our fields of study, we will also spend time collecting and working directly with our own original data to better understand both where data come from and how they are used in academic research. Students will work in teams on ongoing research projects supervised by the instructor and SGPP faculty. Students are given the opportunity to choose from a menu of projects based on their interests. Projects in previous semesters have focused on a variety of topics including political psychology, armed conflict, and migration. The course will involve three hours per week of class-based training and lecturing alongside six hours per week of students working in teams tackling specific research tasks on their selected projects. Finally, we will also discuss and practice how to effectively present data and research findings for non-academic audiences.

Undergraduate students can gain early research skills during their first two years while earning academic credit through a variety of course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) at the University.

Nine teams were selected to participate in the 2021 CURE Training Institute. Listed below are the nine teams and the nine courses they will begin offering in the 2021-2022 academic year. 

Dr. Daniel Menchik and Dr. Franziska Frank, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences 
SOC/CHS403  - Care, Health, and Society (CHS) in the Wild: Conducting Ethnographic Studies of Health and Medicine in Action 

Offered Fall 2022 

Care, Health, and Society in the Wild is a hands-on course dedicated to studying the social aspects of health and the practice of medicine. Over the semester, students will develop skills to understand sociological methods and principles, evaluate medicine on an institutional level, understand relationships between various subjects in the medical field, explore healthcare disparities. All of these skills will emerge as you construct and carry out a sociological project during the semester. Because this class is a fieldwork-based course, students spend half of their time in class and the other half conducting their study in medical venues around Tucson. Projects, carried out individually or in a group, incorporate community engagement while teaching students to “see more” in medical settings and giving them a realistic idea about the way health care is socially organized.  

Dr. Bryan Carter and Lynn Robinson, MA, College of Humanities 
AFAS299 –  Community Responsive Digital Humanities Research

Offered in Spring and Fall semesters

Students will join in a theoretical and hands-on practical introduction to the Digital Humanities and advanced technologies used in the field (augmented reality, virtual reality, volumetric, 360 imaging, etc.). This knowledge will be applied in a real-world project with a local cultural center as students collaborate to explore how to undertake critical, embedded Digital Humanities partnerships in community settings with vulnerable populations. 

Dr. Rachel Gallery, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences 
RNR297A – Natural Resources Workshop

This course will immerse students in fieldwork based research, allowing them to make authentic contributions to national databases tracking species’ responses to climate change.  

Dr. Anita Huizar-Hernanez, College of Humanities 
HNRS209 – Decolonizing the Narrative of Cabeza de Vaca: A Digital Humanities Mapping Project

Offered Spring 2022 

This course encourages students to rethink the history of European colonization in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands by: (1) analyzing how and by whom this history has been narrated, and (2) considering what impact those narratives have on society today. Throughout the semester, we will work collaboratively to create a digital interactive map of Cabeza de Vaca’s 1542 text, which relates his journey across what is today the U.S.-Mexico borderlands with detailed—though Eurocentric—descriptions of the people and places he encountered. The interactive map allows users to explore geo-tagged data drawn from the narrative alongside contextual background information, dramatically visualizing how Cabeza de Vaca’s interpretation of the landscape was shaped by colonial power relations. We will focus specifically on his descriptions of the flora and fauna that he encountered during his travels. 

Dr. Ulises Ricoy and Dr. Martha Bhattacharya, College of Science 
NSCS397 – VIP-CURE: Brain Communication Networks

Offered Spring 2022, Spring 2023, & Fall 2023.

Our objective in this VIP-CURE is to predict and test candidate brain proteins participating in neuron-glia communication and neurodegenerative disease. Students will learn computational approaches for “big data” analysis to generate a list of gene candidates, followed by the evaluation of these candidates in Drosophila (fruit flies) with learning and memory or locomotor behavioral readouts. Students will gain real research experience using hand-on techniques and will contribute to new knowledge about the way neurons and glia communicate in health and disease.  

Dr. Jennifer Teske and Dr. Jennifer Ravia, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences 
NSC395B – Special Topics in Nutritional Sciences: Participation in the Integrated Stress Response Pathway Research Techniques

Offered in Spring semesters.

The integrated stress response (IRS) is a ubiquitous cellular pathway that regulates protein synthesis and is associated with many chronic diseases. Animal models indicate that abnormal behavior (diet, physical activity and sleep) disrupts regulatory proteins in the IRS within several tissues, but it’s unclear if the same response occurs in humans and if the proteins can be detected in a biofluid (saliva or urine). The purpose of this class is to determine if IRS proteins can be detected in biofluids and if they are associated with diet quality, physical activity levels, and sleep. To do this, students will participate in data collection, protein extraction and quantification, lab assays, data visualization, data analysis and create a poster to summarize the data collected during the project. This is an entry level class, where class time and outside activities will be used to introduce and discuss these activities sufficiently to develop student self-efficacy with laboratory procedures. At the end of the course, students will be able to describe a research project from start to finish and effectively communicate the results of the research.  

Dr. Valerie Trouet and Dr. Bryan Black, College of Science 
GEOS275 – Dendochronology

Offered in Fall 2023.

In September 2020, multiple fires erupted in Oregon, burning thousands of structures and nearly 10% of forests in the western Cascade Mountains. The longer-term fire history of this mesic region and the extent to which these fires are unusual remains unknown. BA Black and colleagues have collected 69 firescar baring tree samples from this region, which have not yet been analyzed. We propose a research project in which we generate the first tree-ring based fire history for western Oregon. During a local (Mt. Lemmon) field trip at the start of the semester, students will learn about Western US fire history and how to recognize and sample fire-scarred trees. They will then learn how to prepare samples for tree-ring research, the process of tree-ring dating, and apply this to develop a regional fire history chronology. Students will learn how to derive policyrelevant information, such as fire return intervals, fire-climate interactions, and management impacts, from their fire chronology. In the later part of the semester, students will write a report of their fire history findings, which will be sent to the US Forest Service (USFS) and the Andrews Long-Term Ecological Research station, which was partially burned. In so doing, students will learn how to communicate their scientific results with stakeholders, who use fire history research to inform forest and fire management decisions. Students will also learn how to upload the fire chronology to the International Multiproxy Fire Database in order to make the data they generated available to the broader research community. 

Dr. Li Xu, College of Applied Science and Technology 
APCV361 – Data Analysis and Visualization 

Offered in Spring and Fall semesters.

This course will lay a foundation for students to understand how to process, analyze, and visualize data. Topics include data collection and integration, exploratory data analysis, statistical inference and modeling, machine learning, and data visualization.  The emphasis of the course topics will be placed on integration and synthesis of concepts and their application to solving problems.   Students will explore these topics using software tools. Prerequisites: APCV320 and APCV302.

Dr. Ryan Ruboyianes, College of Science 
ECOL182L – Introductory Biology Lab 

Offered in Spring and Fall semesters.

ECOL182L is the standard ECOL182 lab class that has been converted into a CURE.  The class is designed to introduce the fundamentals of ecology and evolutionary biology with the use of hands-on activities and experimentation. Students will apply basic experimental design and the scientific method as they discuss how organisms interact with their environment and how species and populations change over time. Weekly learning objectives and major topics are provided in each chapter of the lab manual. ECOL 182L is the laboratory companion to the introductory biology (ECOL182R) lecture. They are conceptually related but administered and graded independently. Both courses need not be taken simultaneously, although it may be beneficial. 

Undergraduate students can gain early research skills during their first two years while earning academic credit through a variety of course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) at the University.

Seven teams were selected to participate in the 2022 CURE Training Institute. Listed below are the seven teams and the courses they will begin offering in the 2022-2023 academic year. 

Dr. Jennifer Earl, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences 
Course number and title TBD

Course description TBD

Dr. Amy Fountain, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences 
LING299 - Community-led Language Technology Development

Offered in Spring and Fall semesters.

Students will join a community-based language technology development project, the Coeur d’Alene Online Language Resource Center (COLRC), as an example of a community lead language technology development project that focuses on the needs of a low-resource, minoritized language community. Depending on their skills and interests, participating students will enroll for 1 to 3 credits, and be assigned to assist in the development and deployment process. The project supports students who wish to develop skills in linguistic analysis and language activism, along with at least one of the following technical skills: coding for frontend, backend, rest interfaces, and scripting (javascript, python); database development (postgres, graphQL); and/or natural language processing (ingest, tokenization, annotation tasks using lum.ai/odinson libraries). Interested students should have at least some familiarity with and enjoyment of coding, but need not have significant experience or expertise in these areas. Students who are members of minoritized or low resource language communities will bring particularly valuable experience and expertise to this work, but any undergraduate student is welcome to participate

Dr. Jennie Gubner, College of Fine Arts
MUS496S - Music, Health, and Wellness Story Lab

How can music promote health and wellness in our lives and communities across the lifespan? For years, ethnomusicologists have been studying music around the world as a form of healing and a vehicle for community building and identity formation. One of the most important ways ethnomusicologists do research is by learning directly with and from individuals and communities through interviews, observant participation, and thoughtful engagement in communities of practice. In this interdisciplinary, hands-on, fieldwork course, we will explore the relationship between music and health through the creation of collaborative, community-based digital storytelling projects. Working in teams, students in this course will meet with individuals from diverse backgrounds from across the Tucson area to learn about their musical preferences and practices, document their musical life stories, and work to map the musical spaces and activities that have brought and continue to bring meaning, wellness, and health to their lives. To raise awareness about how music can be used to build and strengthen healthy communities, the stories students gather will be collected and shared as a growing creative toolkit to be shared with community members and healthcare providers. 

Dr. Caitlyn Hall, W.A. Franke Honors College
HNRS314 - Ideas into Action: An Introduction to Civic Engagement

Offered in Spring semesters.

This is a dynamic service-learning course where students investigate notions of community and civic engagement through the lens of a social scientist, community members, and non-profit leaders. Students are asked to engage in service-learning pedagogy with real-world practice in this hands-on experiential learning class. Students will spend time understanding systematic social issues and structured inequalities with a non-profit community partner. Students will work on an interdisciplinary Honors Civic Engagement Team (HCET) to address and respond to social issues impacting marginalized communities. Students should expect to spend about 45 hours on community-based projects that the host organization often would be unable to complete with their own resources. Students will spend time unveiling their personal values and identities to better understand solutions to social issues plaguing society including racism, sexism, classism, and other forms of bias through reflections, readings, discussions and academic inquiry. Students will develop an understanding of their long-term social responsibility in responding to community-based social issues through the lenses of a social scientist, a non-profit leader, and a community member.

Dr. Frans Tax and Dr. Susan Hester, College of Science
MCB195 - course title TBD

Course description TBD

Dr. Jina Yoon and Dr. Jennifer Kirkpatrick, College of Education
Course number TBD - Application of Research in Social Emotional Development of Children and Adolescents

This course is designed to develop an applied understanding of social science/educational research related to social emotional development of school aged children. Topics covered include an introduction to current literature on behavioral, social, and emotional development for children and adolescents, with an emphasis on trauma and stress among youth from underrepresented backgrounds. Literature on resilience and positive development will also be introduced. Along with an exploration of research, the course offers an introduction to the tools necessary to engage in research including literature searches, research methods, data collection, basic data analyses. Students will learn to interpret results and apply findings to practice in schools. Through a guided research experience, students will identify a research question,   analyze data, and interpret results for application to the school community.  Students will learn about methods for dissemination of findings by preparing a professional poster and presenting their research findings and implications to an audience of peers and university community.  

Dr. Jennifer Katcher, Pima Community College 
BIO181 - Introductory Biology

Offered Spring 2023

Principles of structure and function of living things at the molecular and cellular levels of organization. Includes introduction to the scientific process, scientific measurements and laboratory techniques, chemistry of cells, organization of cells, metabolism, cell communication, patterns of cell division, patterns of inheritance, nucleic acids, gene expression, and biotechnology. 

Undergraduate students can gain early research skills during their first two years while earning academic credit through a variety of course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) at the University.

The 2023 CURE Training Institute was open to any UArizona, AZ community college, and AZ tribal college faculty and instructors interested in developing CUREs. A total of 29 individuals participated. Listed below are seven teams that were selected to receive funding for their CURE and descriptions of the courses they will begin offering in the 2023-2024 academic year. 

Dr. Mark Beilstein & Erika Haws, College of Science & College of Agricultural and Life Sciences 
PLS299 - Applied Plant Genetics Lab

Course description TBD

Dr. Katrina Henry, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
ENVS270L - Critical Zone Science Lab

Course description TBD

Dr. Janelle Lamoreaux, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
ANTH211 - Biosocial Interpretations of Reproduction

Course description TBD

Dr. Kristy Slominski, College of Humanities
RELI406 - Religious Diversity in Healthcare

Course description TBD 

Dr. Martha Whitaker, College of Science
HWRS349A&B/350 - Principles of Hydrology

Offered in Fall semesters.

Students in this course will work to answer the question: “Do monsoon storms start later in the day than they did decades ago?” This question has been raised by numerous long-time Tucson citizens, who insist that monsoon storms start in the late evening (after sunset) rather than 3-5pm. While this started as a pedestrian question, it also has meteorological and practical implications if it is in fact true. The in-person class is a hands-on Collaborative Learning course, and there is a practical, applied lab with several field trips, many of which involve interaction with hydrology & atmospheric science professionals. Some examples of field trips for the lab include: Stream gaging with the US Geological Survey; A tour of the National Weather Survey office and a weather balloon launch; A tour of Biosphere2's Landscape Evolution Observatory (LEO) Project; and more! This is an excellent course to gain a broad, applied understanding of virtually every subdiscipline in hydrology!

Dr. Li Xu, College of Applied Science and Technology
APCV303 - Data Fluency for All

Course description TBD

Dr. Na Zuo & Dr. Satheesh Aradhyula - College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
AREC397C - Course Title TBD

Course description TBD