This research is preparing students to go into the world and continue with this type of activity, he said. In order to qualify for the program students must submit an essay that outlines their backgrounds and offers reasons for wanting to enter the research field. Some grants awarded to Holy Cross, such as those from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, fund summer student research across the sciences and mathematics. The Fortin grant, however, is specifically geared toward involving students in cancer research. In all of the research projects at the school, each student is paired with a faculty member who acts as his or her mentor.
Students continue their research during the school year as part of their academic program.
For example, students enroll in Honors Research, Undergraduate Research, or Biochemistry Thesis Research and receive course credit for this as well as three additional courses each semester. Freedom from classes in the summer months, however, allows these student researchers 10 weeks of uninterrupted time in the laboratories. Faculty members offer guidance and encourage appropriate correlated reading to foster the students independent thinking skills. Even though they explore specific theories, the students main goal is to learn good research methodology through these apprenticeships.