The office of Research and Individualized Student Experiences, a new organization formed from three previous factions of the existing department, has been established recently to broaden research opportunities for Oswego State students.

RISE offers grants ranging from $50, for a travel grant allowing psychology students to attend scholarly conferences, to $4,000, as a stipend for faculty to pay student assistants for help in the professor’s projects. Many of the grants accept applications on a rolling basis, while grants like the Student Scholarly and Creative Activity Grant are only accepting application until Nov. 1.

While academic learning is certainly a critical aspect of working in a particular field, experience in the field prior to graduation helps students stand out on job applications and gain knowledge that they could not gather through academic classes alone.

Internships can help students gain a feel for the type of work that they would be doing after graduation. The outcome of these internships often are telling of the individual; if a student who does not enjoy working in the particular field, they might decide to change their major to better suit their individual interests.

According to the Oswego State website, RISE was founded by Dr. Diana Boyer, who referred back to a high school trip she took which helped foster her interest in science and consequently spurred her interest in making grants and internships available to students.

“I did a research project. I went out into the field, collected fossils, did the lab work, presented at a regional conference—and from that moment on I was hooked,” Boyer said.

Boyer knows first hand how crucial these experiences can be for students to explore their academic studies in a different academic setting. For students interested in internships and study abroad programs related to major exploration, RISE is a great place to start.

As a student looking for an internship or grant, it can be hard to know where to start. Not only does RISE allow for various internship opportunities in math, the sciences and music, it also allows for many possible options.

RISE is a great place to begin researching for undergraduate internships because financial aid is offered through the program, which works to make these grants and internships available to a broader audience rather than just the honors students.

Additionally, the RISE webpage on the Oswego State website includes information regarding grants and scholarships available to students through Oswego State, as well as a link to a list of outside scholarships offered. For students who have specific ideas in mind, the RISE page has a list of professors whom should be consulted in order to gain the funding.

For students without a specific research idea, the page also lists other possible grants available and other learning opportunities offered both on and off campus. Recent internships and grants offered through RISE have included a biology internship exploring links between obesity and the blood, a music internship allowing student performance opportunities and a six week project in which a student researched mass extinction in Western New York.

In order to get involved and gain a deeper knowledge of a field, students should first speak with a professor about their interest in the internships or grants available in the field, and then fill out a brief form to make you eligible for campus grants and internships available.

The RISE office is located in room 230 of the Campus Center and contains lists of current grants and internships available. RISE can offer experiences through Oswego State, which will help in both academics and post-graduation.