Undergraduate Research

Many undergraduate students aspire to conduct research utilizing the resources available from their college institution. This is true many students at Tulane, as many undergraduates expand upon their coursework, relationships with professors, study abroad experiences, and access to labs to conduct research. To begin, there is a database available to all students interested in research pursuits. There are opportunities to find funding, gain research grants, to present at various conferences, and finally to publish your research. You can find more info here. Pasted below are blurbs from various undergrads about their research experiences from Tulane. 

Liberal Arts Research

Presenting my research on "Press
Freedom in Argentina"
in Alabama.

Liberal Arts students have many available opportunities to do research as undergraduates. Many upper-level courses require research projects and other research projects can be counted as academic credit. If students take the initiative, they can meet with their professors to try to publish in an undergraduate journal. For example, in my political science major, I have written three separate research papers of 20 pages or longer, and have had the opportunity to publish these projects with additional research and revisions. Professors are eager to help students pursue the plausibility of getting published. Additionally, there is a new Tulane Undergraduate Research Journal, which seeks research articles from undergraduate students in any major. The forum is specifically targeted for students who have worked with faculty on a research project, like an independent study course or other similar research.

There are also several grant opportunities available for Tulane students to present their research at various conferences. For example, I received a grant from Newcomb College to travel to Birmingham, Alabama to present at the 21st Annual Latin American Symposium at Birmingham-Southern College. About 10 other Tulane students also received these grants, and we were accompanied by a faculty member from the Stone Center for Latin American Studies.

The group after we presented!

Science Research

"My name is Adhira, and I’m currently a freshman here at Tulane. I do research in the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology as a Lab Assistant. It’s a work study job, but there are a lot of opportunities available for students who don’t have work study too. I perform behavioral tests on rats and mice in order to check the stress levels in receptors in their brains. These experiments are done for grad students or Dr. Tasker/Dr. Shi for their research. I just perform the behavioral tests and they do the sacrificing of the animals, examining brain slices, etc. This job is useful to me for the experience of working in the lab with animals and will also help me achieve my dream of becoming a doctor. It helped me manage my time as well as learn how to perform these behavioral tests that may be useful to know if Idecide to pursue a career in research."

From the lab.

The Honors Thesis: 

Students in the Honors Program have the option of writing a thesis their senior year. To be eligible to write an honors thesis, a student must have an overall cumulative GPA of 3.4 or higher, and a GPA of 3.5 or higher in their major. The Honors Program guides students through this process, is available for appointments, and provides additional courses to prepare students to develop their topics. The Honors Program is a great resource for students with a high GPA to pursue quality research as an undergraduate.

Junior Year: Juniors have the option to take a 1-credit “Boot Camp” class (graded as satisfactory/unsatisfactory) to prepare them for an honors thesis. The course is designed to lead students through the process of developing research projects and the methodologies they will need to do so. It is designed for students of Social Sciences, Humanities, Public Health, or Business. The Honors Program recommends that students take the Boot Camp course, as there is a big difference in quality between the projects of students who have taken the course and those who have not.

At this time, juniors should also be thinking about potential advisors within their academic major or majors. By the end of the semester, it is important for students to have a good idea of what question their thesis will answer, what the methodology is going to be, and what sources or evidence will be used. It is generally not possible for students to develop a successful thesis in time for the September deadline if they wait until they return to campus for their senior year.

Senior Year: "An honors thesis, although technically a one-year process, really starts at the end of your junior year, when you start identifying a topic that interests you and faculty members that may be able to serve as your readers. The thesis requires a lot of independent work - definitely not a task to be undertaken by procrastinators! In the fall, you submit an overview of your topic and meet with your thesis readers several times to start focusing your research and to create a plan of action. Although the end product seems daunting - mine is 53 pages! - rest assured that there are several checkpoints and your readers are amazing resources to help you if and when you get stuck. By the beginning of the spring semester, you're about halfway through the body of your work, and throughout the rest of the semester, you really drill down on the important aspects of your chosen topic or question. You defend your thesis in front of your readers in April and turn it in right before graduation... And then the celebrations REALLY start!  I've found it to be a great way not only to learn more about a chosen subject, but also to develop research skills, learn time management, and develop a relationship with faculty members. Plus, it's a great tool to have when applying to jobs or graduate schools!" 

- Sophie Cranin, whose thesis is about Girls on the Run and physical activity interventions in New Orleans.

The girls Sophie coaches at Lusher Charter School
in New Orleans.

And The Best Po-Boy Goes To...

Guest Blogger: Sarah Swig

Having familial roots in New Orleans, the po-boy has been my favorite sandwich for some time now. My California friends have a hard time understanding, as we're very accustomed to turkey or chicken clubs with avocado on sourdough bread. But there's nothing quite like the New Orleans po-boy, and I have no shame in saying it's the best type of sandwich I've ever had. The original po-boy included bread, potatoes, and gravy, hence a "poor boy's" sandwich. Now, po-boys are the quintessential New Orleans sandwich, always served on French bread, generally with roast beet or seafood and dressed with mayo, lettuce, and tomatoes. There's even an entire festival in November each year called the Oak Street Po-Boy Festival, which is in walking distance from Tulane's campus.

Since coming to Tulane, my friends and I have explored many po-boy restaurants. Whenever we have visitors in town, we always find the time to try a new po-boy, wanting to try each type of sandwich before we graduate. Yet lately, we always find ourselves returning to one place to eat our favorite po-boy. My five roommates and I all unanimously agree that our favorite po-boy place is Parkway Bakery and Tavern.

Surf and Turf

Their best po-boy, in my humble opinion, is their Surf and Turf: Slow Cooked Roast Beef topped with Golden Shrimp Covered in Gravy. To quote one of my good friends, "the combination of textures between the gravy roast beef and golden crispy shrimp makes my mouth water". It's definitely a mess to eat, but it's so worth it. They have a huge tented seating area which is really awesome for groups, and the restaurant is also right across the street from Bayou St. John, so we sometimes go sit outside by the water to demolish our po-boys. Obama has even been there with his family!

Runner-ups include the Oyster po-boy from Domilise's, the French Fry and Gravy po-boy (but really, any po-boy) from Johnny's in the French Quarter, and finally both the Root Beer Glazed Ham po-boy and the Grilled Shrimp, Fried Green Tomatoes, and Remoulade po-boy at Mahoneys.




So, next time you're in New Orleans, I recommend a trip out to Parkway for a po-boy!!

My visiting friends try Parkway!