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Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences

Student Research

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student presenting her research

Harris College offers many opportunities for students to get involved in research. Harris College is able to engage in innovative research because it maintains a very close connection between students and the community.

At the undergraduate level, students participate through the John V. Roach Honors College who explore a topic of their choosing alongside a professor to yield a research product such as a presentation or a paper. Some undergraduate students also volunteer in some of our research labs.

Graduate students can complete a thesis or dissertation where they ask a research question that’s in line with their mentor’s line of research, and they’ll work carefully to answer it and contribute our knowledge of health care.

The Harris College Boller Competition and the Student Research Symposium were combined to form the Harris College Student Research Conference. This all-day event welcomes undergraduate and graduate students to present their research and posters. Those wishing to participate, must complete this form by February 7, 2024.

Student Research Conference Apr. 12
Intent-to-Participate Deadline Mar. 1

The three-minute thesis competition requires graduate students to explain their thesis, dissertation or other project in three minutes or less, and they have to do it in language that's not for a scientific audience, but for everyone. The winner has the opportunity to compete at the university level. 

Three-Minute Thesis Competition Mar. 22
Those wishing to participate, must complete this form by March 1, 2024.

Watch the 2023 Competition

In Harris College, student and faculty projects frequently include human subjects. If your project involves human subjects, please follow these steps.

Before following this general procedure, please check with your academic unit to ensure there are no additional requirements prior to starting your student project.

Steps for student research:
1. Determine whether your project involves human subject participants or not. The following are tools that might help you make that decision:

If your project does not need human subjects’ protections (for example, if it is a scoping review or a meta-analysis), you can begin work on your project with your mentor. 

2. If your project does involve human subjects, determine whether you and your mentor need biomedical or social/behavioral basic CITI Training. Complete the appropriate training under “Basic Courses.”

3. Visit the TCU Institutional Review Board (IRB) website to download the necessary documents for a project submission. 

Note that a TCU faculty member MUST be identified as the principal investigator. These forms are updated periodically. Please ensure that the form you are submitting is the correct one. 

4. The faculty mentor should submit or confirm the student’s submission following the protocol established by Cayuse Human Ethics.

Your faculty supervisor is responsible for ensuring that your project is correctly identified as requiring a review for human subjects' protections. Additionally, they will ensure that the scientific rationale behind your project is sound.

The Student Travel Grant Program has been established to support travel related to research for undergraduate and graduate students in Harris College. Funds may also be used to attend virtual conferences online.

Students may apply for these competitive funds to present their TCU-conducted research, attend a conference with their faculty mentor or to learn about a specific area of research in their field of study.

Grant awards are determined by Harris College’s Associate Dean for Research. The maximum award is $500 and is only eligible to use for travel prior to graduation. Limited funds are available and are awarded during the specified dates only.

Completed application forms must be submitted by the deadline to Irma Preciado in person in Room 2101 of the Bass Building or via email to i.preciado@tcu.edu. Travel awards are announced within two weeks after the deadline.

Grant Application Deadlines 
Please note the following are not rolling deadlines. For future travel, an application must be submitted.

  • For travel occurring between September 1, 2023, and January 31, 2024, applications must be submitted on or before September 15, 2023.
  • For travel occurring between February 1, 2024, and August 31, 2024, applications must be submitted on or before January 26, 2024.

*If your conference presentation is not yet confirmed, please include your conference submission paperwork in lieu of proof of acceptance. 

Note for Graduate Students 
To apply for the travel grant, you must also apply for the Graduate Student Travel Grant (or have applied within the last year). Harris College’s Student Travel Grant is available to cover expenses that are not covered by the Graduate Studies Travel Grant.

Students in our Ph.D. program may apply for the Student Travel Grant twice in an academic year to support scholarship dissemination.

Click Here to Apply 

The Student Research and Creative Scholarship Grant has been established to support research projects of undergraduate and graduate students in Harris College. The grant is awarded to a student and faculty mentor pair.

Grant awards are determined by Harris College’s Associate Dean for Research and a research committee. The maximum award is $500 for undergraduate and graduate students in a master’s program, and $750 for students in a Ph.D. program. Limited funds are available and are awarded during the specified dates only. Funds are intended to pay for supplies or other expenses directly related to the project. 

Completed application forms must be submitted by the deadline to Irma Preciado in person in Room 2101 of the Bass Building or via email to i.preciado@tcu.edu. Awards are announced within two weeks after the deadline.

Grant Application Deadlines
Application must contain the endorsement of the student’s faculty mentor and academic unit chair or director. 

  • Application Date 1: Applications must be submitted between September 1 and October 1 to fund projects conducted between September 15, 2023 – May 16, 2024. *
  • Application Date 2: Applications must be submitted by January 26, 2023, to fund projects conducted between rom January 28, 2023 – May 16, 2024. * 

*Assuming all reports are filed by the expected deadline. Submission of an application is not a guarantee that a grant will be awarded.

Awardees MUST submit a quarterly progress report to the Associate Dean for Research explaining funds spent, project progress and any changes to the study timeline. Students who do not submit their reports by the established deadlines are at risk for having their funding pulled and may affect future grant opportunities.  

Funds are to be used only for the items and duration mentioned in the grant application. Purchases not outlined in the grant or made outside the specified timeline may not receive funding.

Students who receive an award for research support are expected to present at the annual Student Research Conference.