The College of Earth, Ocean and Environment, at the University of Delaware, hosted 30 NSF-funded undergraduate interns through our REU Site: Summer REU Program in Marine Science at the University of Delaware. We received over 1000 applications for these 30 positions and were delighted to accept our interns from across the United States, including Puerto Rico. Over 50% of our interns were from non-PhD granting institutions, providing them access to the cutting edge marine science research at our Lewes, DE campus. Almost a quarter of our interns identified as underrepresented minorities; additional interns were first-generation college students and veterans. In addition to 30 NSF-funded interns, an additional 33 students funded through other sources joined our internship programming.

Participants in our program gained experience working on independent research projects under the guidance of UD faculty mentors. In addition to their research activities, interns participated in several field experiences to explore the diversity of coastal environments around Lewes, Delaware. A day trip aboard the RV/Joanne Daiber introduced them to a wide variety of research questions and sampling techniques including trawling, plankton sampling and identification of organisms. An expert in local geology guided students on a tour of the geological features of nearby Cape Henlopen. Another field trip highlight was a nighttime trip to monitor the spawning behavior of horseshoe crabs, a remarkable phenomenon that occurs in May and June each year. In addition, interns participated in a marsh walk, during which they were introduced to the flora and fauna of a Spartina dominated salt-marsh as well as the ecological role of these coastal systems. Many of our interns also conducted field work for their individual projects. Weekly seminars and workshops included career planning, writing and communication in the sciences, funding for grad school and a Boating and Seamanship course offered through the US Coast Guard Auxiliary. Our interns also gained exposure to the array of marine science research at UD through a series of seminars by faculty from the School of Marine Science and Policy.

The overall objective of our program is to increase retention of students in STEM, particularly for students from underrepresented groups. During this funding cycle, we initiated a novel approach to retention in STEM, and in Geoscience, specifically, by directly recruiting our REU interns into our graduate program in Marine Science. Our thoughts in setting up this approach to graduate recruitment were several. Our REU program is highly competitive, with acceptance of just 3-5% of applicants in a given year. The cohort of students that we accept is diverse and this allows us access to very highly qualified AND diverse students for our graduate program. Of the 30 REU interns hosted in summers 2015, 2016, and 2017, 26% have joined the graduate program in the School of Marine Science and Policy at UD. One has already completed her MS and is now working at the USGS. Another third of our interns are pursuing graduate degrees in STEM, and mostly in geosciences, at other institutions. Over 90% of our former interns are either pursuing graduate degrees or working in a STEM field. Our program has contributed to workforce development for STEM fields in the United States.

Last Modified: 04/28/2020
Modified by: Joanna York