Research and Teaching Opportunities

Engineering Ambassadors

The Penn State Engineering Ambassadors is an outreach program providing opportunities for outstanding Penn State engineers to gain meaningful communication experiences both on and off campus. Ambassadors travel to high schools all over Pennsylvania to give short presentations on engineering topics to encourage the interest of these students in science and engineering careers. Ambassadors have many leadership opportunities and often give presentations and tours to prospective students and families, alumni and industry representatives.

To be eligible to participate, students must first enroll in courses related to effective speech and communication skills. Students who perform well in these courses will have the opportunity to apply to become an ambassador.

Undergraduate Teaching and Research Experiences

Undergraduate Teaching and Research Experiences in Engineering (UTREE) is a new organization dedicated to providing undergraduate students with teaching and research experiences in preparation for graduate school. UTREE students are undergraduates who have excelled in their technical and communication classes. UTREE students regularly go into undergraduate classrooms and teach classes on special topics such as making presentations and working in teams. UTREE students also run college-wide meetings on how to obtain and prepare for undergraduate research experiences.

Teaching Internships

Students are eligible to participate in an undergraduate teaching internship program during their senior year. If selected, students will be matched with a faculty mentor and assigned to work with him or her in the classroom. The workload is about 10 hours per week, and students will receive a stipend. The goals of this program are to improve communication skills, develop interest and firsthand experience in teaching, and develop a better understanding of basic concepts through teaching. Visit the Leonhard Center website for more information.

Research Experiences for Undergraduates

There are a number of opportunities for undergraduate students to gain research experience outside of the University as well. The National Science Foundation keeps a database of Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) on its website.