Q: What is RUSP?
A: RUSP is the Rice Undergraduate Scholars Program, which is Rice's university-wide honors program for juniors and seniors who are considering graduate school and academic careers. The focus in RUSP is on your carrying out a one-year research project supervised by a Rice faculty member. "Research" here can mean laboratory work, field work, or other types of scholarship performed in libraries and elsewhere. In addition, there is a class that meets once per week for both the Fall and Spring semesters, where students present the results of the project and listen to other students present theirs. The class also involves presentations by other Rice faculty on issues relating to careers in research and teaching.
Q: Is RUSP intended primarily for students in Science and Engineering, or for Humanities and Social Sciences?
A: RUSP is intended for everyone. We aim to make RUSP a valuable experience for students contemplating any sort of academic career, including those in professional schools such as music, business, architecture, medicine, and the like. In recent years we have had students from virtually every segment of the university enrolled in RUSP. During the 2007/08 academic year, we had students from Psychology, Electrical & Computer Engineering, English, Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Cognitive Science, Education, Environmental Engineering, Musicology, and Economics. In 2008/09 we have students from History, Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Economics, Psychology, Linguistics,and Chemistry.
Q: How can I talk to RUSP students about what the Program is like?
A: Click the student link to see who is involved now, what projects they are pursuing, and links to their web pages.
Q: How does one go about finding a faculty adviser?
A: Begin by narrowing down your interests to a specific department, area, or faculty member with whom you would like to work. It helps to pick an area in which you have taken courses and a professor from whom you've taken at least one course. Most Rice professors enjoy sponsoring undergraduate research, whether in the form of independent study or reading projects, departmental honors projects, or RUSP projects. You could check with other students, including current or past RUSP students, to see if the professor you have in mind has sponsored projects in the past. You may also discuss your plans with Kellie Sims-Butler, who is Director in the Office of Fellowships and Undergraduate Research. She may be able to suggest advisers to you. Her email is: ksbutler@rice.edu. Before visiting the professor you have in mind, think a bit about the kind of project you might want to do. No elaborate plan is needed at this early point, however. Learn a bit too about the professor's ongoing research, to see if any of it interests you and could form the basis of your particular project. Then visit the professor during his or her office hours, or phone or email for an appointment. Bring with you a copy of the RUSP application and informational materials for the professor to review. When you meet, try to be flexible about the nature of your proposed project; virtually all research is the product of extended discussion and sometimes compromise. Finally, note that there are some professors who will decline to serve as your adviser, perhaps because they already have a number of other students or other obligations and so lack the time, or because your research idea falls outside their area of expertise. In this case, move on to another professor, check with one of the RUSP coordinators, or consider revising your project topic to create a better fit.
Q: Who coordinates RUSP?
A: RUSP is led by faculty coordinators who work with you in addition to your individual faculty adviser. Currently the coordinators are Dr. Daniel Wagner from Biochemistry and Cell Biology and Dr. Lora Wildenthal from History. In Spring 2009, Dr. Wildenthal will be on leave and out of the country; Dr. Cyrus Mody will take her place. Please contact any of them for further information. Your adviser may be a faculty member from any Rice department.
Q: Can I take both RUSP and my departmental Honors program?
A: Yes, in most cases you can. The main factor to bear in mind is that you cannot take double course credits for work you do in RUSP. If you are considering both RUSP and department honors, you have three options. One is to have your department recognize your RUSP credits as satisfying (or partly satisfying) departmental honors requirements. A second is to take course credits in your department for your project but to compensate by taking reduced credits in RUSP (note that RUSP is offered for variable credit hours in the second semester, which allows for this compensation). A third is to conduct two separate projects, one for your department and one for RUSP. Because each project will require significant effort to be done well, we generally advise against this third option.
Q: How much time is spent in class for HONS 470/471?
A: In recent years we have met most weeks during the academic year on Tuesday evenings, from 6:50 until 9:00 (although class sometimes ends earlier than this). We divide our class time into two broad categories. The first involves outsiders who speak to the class regarding matters that are relevant to research and university activities. We have had guest speakers discussing the graduate school application process, the tenure process and what tenure means, how articles are reviewed and published, intellectual property rights in academia, and discrimination in academia. The University Historian has described how Rice came to be what it is today, and Rice faculty have led discussions about ethics in research and the classroom. The second involves presentations that you and your fellow students make, initially discussing the project you are contemplating doing, and toward the end of the year describing your completed project and its findings.
Q: Do I write a paper for RUSP?
A: Yes. The structure and length of these papers vary according to disciplinary conventions, but in general they should take the form of a scholarly article in the relevant discipline. RUSP students have in fact published their research in scholarly forums. We are working to have some representative completed papers posted on the website so that you can see what they look like.
Q: What sorts of expenses can the budget that RUSP students typically receive cover?
A: RUSP students receive budgets for their work, after they prepare a spending proposal and have it approved by the coordinators. This support currently ranges from $250-$1,500 per year. Any legitimate expense associated with your scholarly project is eligible. These include the acquisition of materials needs for research; travel (including both to conduct research and to report results); equipment; and so forth. In your research proposal that you develop early in the Fall semester, you outline and explain these needs as explicitly as possible.
Q: How many students take RUSP each year?
A: About 16. This allows for a small class and so for a good deal of discussion. Much of what you learn in RUSP you will learn from your fellow students, both by reading and listening to their presentations and by hearing them critique yours. The students in RUSP come from a wide variety of backgrounds.
Q: How do I get into RUSP?
A: Application forms are online. The RUSP participants for the coming year are selected by the course coordinators on the basis of the information in the applications and the desire to have a well-balanced program in terms of areas of specialization. The course coordinators would be happy to discuss the process with you, including how you might go about finding an adviser and a topic for your project. We welcome your inquiries and your applications.
Q: Can I take just HONS 470 or just 471?
A: No, the two are part of a single package. Naturally, should problems arise during 470 that prevent a student from moving forward into 471, we can work out an accommodation, but the expectation is that all students will complete the full year's program.
Q: Is RUSP intended only for students intending to go on to academic careers?
A: No. Although RUSP is very useful for these students, it is also valuable for students who are just thinking about academic careers or careers involved in research and scholarship, helping them decide whether this is the right way to go for them.