Colby is recognized as a leader when it comes to incorporating research into undergraduate education across the curriculum. In recent years major grants from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and other sources have expanded opportunities for students to learn by doing—in research laboratories, classrooms, and in the field. Working on projects supported by the Pew Charitable Trusts, students have researched how Congressional candidates emerge in national politics and the roles of religious and neighborhood organizations in political campaigns. At national meetings of science organizations such as the American Chemical Society, American Physical Society, and the Geological Society of America, Colby students are overrepresented among liberal arts undergraduates presenting research findings alongside their professors, graduate students, and other scientists.
The Colby Undergraduate Research Symposium, held each spring since 2000, features research from all disciplines presented by more than 500 students. Talks, poster presentations, and performances represent significant research conducted by students, and abstracts from symposia going back to 2003 are online
In the 1950s the Colby faculty created the Senior Scholars Program to give students an opportunity to devote significant time to a major project in their final year. Students who explore a topic in depth can earn six credit hours for independent research under the guidance of a faculty tutor. Each senior scholar makes a presentation in the spring, and successful project reports become part of the library’s permanent collection. A senior scholars project is an independent, scholarly research project of the kind that usually takes place in graduate schools. Alumni of the program say it is a big advantage getting into and succeeding in graduate programs.
The Maine IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) provides extraordinary opportunities for Colby students to conduct biomedical research in collaboration with partner organizations including Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, The Jackson Laboratory, and the University of Maine. Funded by the National Center for Research Resources and the National Institutes of Health to advance biomedical research, Maine INBRE includes 13 partners that in 2009 received a five-year, $18.7-million grant to continue operations.
Each year students in the senior seminar on economic forecasting publish the Colby Economic Outlook. It is a newsletter that uses Colby’s Quarterly Econometric Model of the U.S. Economy and a model of Maine’s economy that students maintain to make economic projections. It’s more than just a collection of class papers. Some 100 re-cipients of the outlook include the President’s Council of Economic Advisors, Federal Reserve Board advisors, think tanks, academic institutions, and government officials including Maine’s governor.
