Hong Kong, China Summer Design Program.
Spend time thinking about the kind of research you want to be involved in. What areas of design, construction and planning are you most interested in? What skills do you want to gain? What kind of experiences do you want to have?
One of the best ways to find out whether anyone on campus is doing research in a given area is to ask a professor after class. If the professor is teaching the topic, he/she may have done some reading in the area and may even be active in research on it. If you find the prospect of research interesting, you are strongly encouraged to think about who might make a good research supervisor, and to make contact with him or her as early as possible.
To find out what research is being conducted at DCP, use the following resources:
Usually, a student can get involved as a volunteer, as a student taking a research course, or as a paid research assistant. If you are interested in doing a research project, it is up to you to identify and approach a potential supervisor, and to convince him or her that it will be worthwhile to undertake the project. Often, excelling in a class taught by a particular professor is a good opening for an individual relationship of this kind.
It is a good idea to start thinking about undergraduate research as a freshman or sophomore. A lot of undergraduate students don't get involved in research until later in their studies. Conducting research is also important for students who are not interested in pursuing graduate level studies. Research skills are required by a number of jobs that only require undergraduate degrees. Undergraduate students, through the University Scholars Program, work one-on-one with Florida faculty on selected research projects.
