Faculty Information

“I love the independence we have in being able to design our course.“

- Deidre Jaeger, PhD student in EBIO

CUREs are a way for faculty to connect teaching and research

“You have a synergy between your teaching and your research, which a traditional laboratory course doesn’t.”

CUREs can contribute positively to promotion and/or tenure.

“I think it placed me well for tenure and promotion; it prioritizes the teacher-scholar model.” “I got tenure without a problem. I got promoted early. All of these things happened because of stuff like the research that was going on the CURE.”

CUREs can result in publications (basic scientific and/or science education research)

“We can use the actual data that the students have collected during class for publications.”

Students collect data in a CURE that benefit faculty research programs

“Basically, it’s going to benefit the research center, because [students are] going to get valuable data that would have been difficult to get otherwise.”

Faculty feel self-fulfillment/satisfaction from teaching this way

“It’s way more rewarding, I think, to push students further than they thought they could be pushed and to help wake them up to science, what science is. That is incredibly rewarding to me.”

CUREs can help in getting grant money

“It’s been a springboard to get some funding.”

I teach research in my course. Am I teaching a CURE?

Does your course conduct research with no known outcome?

Does the research allow for failure or inform students to prepare for the unexpected?

Does the course produce novel data that can be useful to others in the field?

If yes, then your course is likely a CURE.

More Information

Distinguishing between research- and inquiry-based courses is an important component of defining the type of course you are teaching. Courses in all fields can fit into one or the other category. Both research- and inquiry-based courses engage students in formulating questions that they investigate through various means that may include observation, surveys, writing assignments, or community-based projects. They may be offered as introductory-level courses to pique students’ interest in a field or as upper-division courses as a culmination of the didactic training students receive through a department’s curriculum. However, research-based courses also include the intellectual contribution of information. The original contributions made by students vary by field of study and can include novel interpretation of current information, generation of data, and creative endeavors. These experiences are not limited to STEM fields. Learn more about Humanities Research

Why should I teach a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE)?

Integrate your research in the course you are teaching.

Increase your chances of publishing original research.

Engage with students and see them develop a more authentic and rewarding relationship with research.

More Information

Although the impacts of CUREs on students have been widely studied, the benefits to faculty have only recently been appreciated. Faculty who teach CUREs report increased integration of their own research in their teaching, recognition from departments and institutions, and opportunities for publication. They also find that teaching CUREs gives them more enjoyment and reward due to intellectual stimulation and increased student engagement (Shortlidge, et al., 2017).