Advanced Research and Creativity in Honors (ARCH) Program

0 credit – One Semester

• For those students who are looking for an introduction to research and want to get their feet wet in a research lab
• Requirements:
  • Apprentices will assist in a pre-established lab
  • Learn the basics of research
    • The exact requirements will vary by lab
  • Requires weekly log of what they did and what they learned
• Submission of a final reflection (about five pages) that may consider the following questions/issues:
  • Detail the full course and all of the material covered (about 1 page…what did you do all semester long)
  • Where do you plan to go from here?
  • Take away points
  • What was something that you thought you knew before but were wrong about?
  • Things you would have done differently
  • Things that the lab/mentor/HC should do differently
  • What was the most challenging aspect and how did you overcome it?
  • What was the easiest aspect and why do you think it came so easily to you?
  • Must be substantive review of the experience in the lab

0-3 credits per semester – One Year

• For those majors that do not offer a thesis option, or for students who want to conduct rigorous research
  • This option is for students who are researching in the sciences (either natural or social).
  • This option requires rigorous and extensive writing, original data collection, some background in stats research methods.
  • The first semester requires writing a literature review and proposal.
  • The second semester requires writing a thesis and presenting your research at the Undergraduate Research Conference at FIU (URFIU).
  • Sections of a thesis include: Introduction, Background, Methods, Results, and Discussion (or some variation thereof, depending on the discipline).

0 credit – One Year

• If your major offers a thesis option for “honors in the major,” the Honors College will take the work that you do here and count it toward ARCH
  • Engineering students may use the Senior Design Project here
• The Honors College and the ARCH program will offer direction to the faculty and students
• Students are required to meet with faculty to establish parameters and requirements, as well as their academic advisor in the major to ensure that they meet all the necessary pre-requisites for thesis in the major
  • Identify areas of support for both faculty and students

0-3 credits per semester – One Semester

• For those students who are doing a creative project (humanities or art) or who can commit only one semester to a research project.
• Students will learn the fundamentals of the research process, conduct a literature review and write a project report.
• The ARCH Project can cover several written or creative activities, including but not limited to,
  • White paper, position paper, extended literature review, theory paper, performance, etc.
• Expectations include substantive and rigorous writing; however, no actual data collection is required.
• Students may request to take this section for a 2nd semester with a different topic.

Click here for tips on how to choose a topic. ARCH is open to any academic discipline, including but not limited to STEM, Social Sciences, Humanities, the Arts, Medicine and Business. You can schedule a meeting with Undergraduate Research Senior Coordinator Allen Varela (alvarel@fiu.edu).

Consult your department’s webpage to learn about the incredible research your faculty are doing. Approach faculty after class. Ask your friends if they are doing research. Consult the FIU Faculty Affiliate Database. Please note that your ARCH advisor does NOT have to come from this list. Note also that you can approach faculty from other departments and colleges. You can also schedule a meeting with Undergraduate Research Assistant Director Allen Varela (alvarel@fiu.edu).

Yes, apply to ARCH. You can join a faculty member’s lab, group, or team and work on the project for ARCH. If you already signed up as part of a research team, you can still register for ARCH and get Honors credit for it.

Apply to ARCH at the same time. A departmental thesis, capstone and/or design project can also count as an ARCH project. (Not every FIU college or department has this kind of required project; your degree program’s academic advisor can tell you).

Apply to the ARCH Apprenticeship. This option is for those students who are looking for an introduction to research and want to get their feet wet in a research lab. It is meant for those who are early in their undergraduate career and would like early exposure to research.

You can still apply to ARCH. Your ARCH project does not have to take place at FIU. Previous ARCH projects have been completed via Honors 2.0 online and in other countries.