REU Site: Multidisciplinary and Engaged Approaches to Youth and Community Well-Being

This REU Site equips undergraduates with knowledge and approaches to help them study the experiences of youth and communities. Through an immersive training experience, participants will learn multidisciplinary and integrative approaches advancing science in human development and adaptation across the lifespan. This program provides an educational opportunity for undergraduates in two primary training areas: (1) how multidisciplinary science can advance scientific understanding of factors that shape development and adaptation, and (2) novel strategies for scientific dissemination and translation. This program supports an 8-week learning experience for 8 undergraduates annually, providing a research training opportunity that is typically not available at participants’ home institutions. The primary objective is to expose participants to research methodology in a multidisciplinary and collaborative learning context. Participants will learn to conduct independent research in partnership with youth and communities and as a result develop a comprehensive skillset that prepares them to pursue research careers. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.