The College of Health Sciences offers an undergraduate certificate in Undergraduate Research in Human Health Sciences. This certificate will enhance the educational goals of any University of Kentucky student interested in obtaining experience in health-related research to benefit the pursuit of a health care career.
Admissions Criteria
The admissions criteria for the certificate are as follows:
- a minimum second semester freshman
- 3.0 GPA
- a statement from a CHS faculty research mentor willing to work with the student
- an application submitted through the CHS Undergraduate Research Office and website: www.uky.edu/chs/ugr
Before beginning, all students accepted into the certificate program will be required to:
- register with the UK Office of Undergraduate Research
- complete research ethics education as director by their mentor
- complete web-based biosafety modules as directed by their mentor
Required Courses
A total of 12-15 credit hours is required for the certificate. All required courses for the certificate must be completed with an overall GPA of 3.0 or better and each course within the certificate must be completed with at least a C or better. Courses are described below and can be adapted to accommodate students enrolled in the Honors Program as requested:
This course provides an introduction to basic methods for undertaking research on issues related to health, health care, and within health services organizations and systems.
HHS 455 provides the student with the opportunity to engage in independent work devoted to research on a specific problem with the goal of challenging the student to synthesize concepts from his/her major program and relate them to his/her specific field of research interest. Students work under the direction of a faculty mentor in an area of mutual scientific interest. The student and mentor collaborate to develop a research contract that outlines the expectations of the research experience including: a description of the experience with goals and objectives, tasks for completing the objectives with timelines and assessment criteria, students seeking the UGR certificate will complete, as part of one of their HHS 455 contracts, either (1) a presen-tation to a local targeted group (e.g. research day, professional meetings); (2) poster preparation for local/national/ international conferences; (3) manuscript development/writing with mentor, or (4) writing a scholarly literature review. Additional activities expected of CHS undergraduate research certificate holders may include participation in the mentor’s lab group/journal club, IRB or IACUC protocol preparation, discussions with the mentor on topics related to research ethics, and additional presentation experiences at scientific or public meetings deemed valuable by the faculty mentor.
*If a student comes from another academic unit with research experience, the mentor can agree to have 3 credit hours count toward the 6-9 credit hours of research experience required for the certificate. In addition, students could elect to complete this requirement under the direction of different mentors as long as they demonstrate this is justified for their scientific field of interest.
- Mentor/student selected course work Credit(s): 3
(i.e. content specific to area of research) - 300 level or above
The student and mentor will collaborate to select an out-of-discipline course to meet this requirement of the certificate program. The course may come from any program on the UK campus with the caveat that the content of the course be specific to the student’s scientific field of interest. For example, a student with a major in communication sciences and disorders interested in the effects of preterm birth on family stress might take a selected course in sociology (A&S), psychology (A&S), or health care navigation (HHS). A student interested in an aspect of aging muscle might take a course in gerontology (GRN) or public health (CPH). The connection between the selected course and its application to the area of research should be clearly linked in the agreement between the student and faculty mentor. In considering course options, the student/mentor must obtain any necessary instructor consent prior to student enrollment.
For more information contact:
Richard Andreatta, Ph.D.
Director of CHS Undergraduate Research Program
richard.andreatta@uky.edu
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