Office of Undergraduate Research

CURE—Purdue Program

The CURE—Purdue program trains and supports instructors to incorporate novel research into existing or new courses to create course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs). The leading barrier to instructors developing a new CURE is time. CURE—Purdue offers a professional development program through which instructors across a range of disciplines will have dedicated time and support for designing a CURE. Participants in the CURE—Purdue program will be provided with frameworks for course design along with one-on-one instructor mentorship and peer support.

The CURE—Purdue program is comprised of four components:  

  1. a flipped format workshop with asynchronous preparatory work and a two-day synchronous in-person workshop. 
  2. one-on-one consultation support following the workshop,
  3. peer support via community of practice virtual meetings during the academic year, and
  4. continued mentoring and access to resources during the implementation and assessment of their CURE.

CUREs provide a larger number of students with access to valuable experiential learning opportunities in which they will learn and use the practices of their disciplines and be a part of the discovery of new knowledge! 

How to apply to the 2024-2025 CURE—Purdue program 

Application review will begin on March 18th and will continue until all slots are full. To apply, please complete this brief Qualtrics form to submit your application. Please note the following: 

  • PWL, PNW, and PFW instructors from all disciplines are invited to apply for the CURE—Purdue program.  
  • A funding stipend ($2000 total) is provided to participants at two milestone time points: $1,000 for the completion of the summer professional development workshop and submission of a detailed course plan and $1,000 following the implementation of their CURE course/module, participation in community of practice meetings, and completion of reflections and surveys).
  • Teams of Instructors are welcome to apply as follows: 
    • Each instructor in a team is eligible for a stipend if the course count meets or exceeds the instructor count. (For example, if three instructors want to collaborate to turn at least three courses into CUREs, then all three instructors are eligible for funding.) Each instructor should submit their own application identifying the course where they are the lead instructor. 
    • Only the lead instructor is eligible for the stipend if the team is working on one course.
Graduate students are welcome to be part of a team; however, there is no dedicated graduate student program nor funding.  Graduate students are not eligible to be the lead instructor and are not eligible to submit an application. 
  • To preview the application content before starting the Qualtrics form, please see this sample.

CURE—Purdue targets courses enrolling undergraduate and professional students. If the count of interested fellows exceeds available funding, we may prioritize applicants that: 

  • Collectively diversify the population of targeted students enrolled (e.g., across disciplines). 
  • Collectively diversify the variety of research experiences available to students. 
  • Target students earlier in their academic career. 
  • Enroll larger numbers of students. 
  • Have departmental support to sustain reoffering the CURE over years. 

Colleges may also expand participation with a limited number of instructor fellowships through the full financial support of additional instructors and faculty mentors. Interested units should contact Amy Childress (childres@purdue.edu) for additional details, availability, and the corresponding MOU.