Adaptive Athletics

Led by Michael Cottingham, Adaptive Athletics provides students with the opportunity to collaborate with local organizations and athletes to host adaptive athletic events. Students develop cultural competency and problem solving while organizing events for sports such as wheelchair basketball and goalball.

Adaptive Device Design Experimentation

In this project, led by Jeff Feng, Industrial Design students collaborate with occupational therapists at Harris Health clinics to  develop  affordable prosthetic or adaptive devices for upper extremity amputees. The project provides an unmatched experiential learning with a high impact on students’ learning in patient-centered research and design practice and benefits low-income patients.

American Sign Language Interpreting Program

This grant to Sharon Hill enables students in introductory and intermediate American Sign Language (ASL) courses to participate in deaf community events, such as cultural performances. ASL students develop effective communication strategies for real-world settings and enhance their competency in deaf culture. 

The Arts in Rome

This grant to Melissa Noble supports travel scholarships and reduces costs for students participating in the Arts in Rome faculty-led Learning Abroad experience. This travel program is paired with IART 1300, The Arts in Society. IART 1300 fulfills a core course requirement in Language, Philosophy and Culture. 

Battle of the Classes

Battle of the Classes is a campus-wide event led by Kelly McCormick. Student teams compete to determine the best business idea to come out of a UH undergraduate course.

Bauer in D.C.

The Bauer in DC Fellowship Program is an experiential opportunity, directed by Colleen Davies. Students live, learn, and intern in Washington, D.C. for the spring semester. Past Fellows’ internships have included: The White House, Securities and Exchange Commission, State Department, Supreme Court, Department of Commerce, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Human Rights Campaign, and congressional offices.

BioTechnology Academy

The BioTechnology Academy, created by Bulent Dogan and Mehmet Sen, is a program designed for pre-service education majors and natural sciences majors interested in secondary education. Students serve as mentors in a summer program on nanotechnology for high school students.

Blaffer Art and Design

Overseen by Steven Matijcio, Blaffer Art and Design provides students with the unique opportunity to design products for sale in the art museum gift shop. Students enrolled in courses in industrial design, graphic design, and printmaking created prototypes which are evaluated by faculty and museum administrators. The first collection of student-designed products went on sale in 2023.

Cancer Cell Culture Technology

The project aims to improve the skills of undergraduate students in the biotechnology (BTEC) program. We will provide hands-on experience with cancer cell line models that are widely used for in-vitro basic cancer research and drug discovery. The project involves two laboratories; the Health Disparities Laboratory (HDL) led by Dr. Kumaraswamy Naidu Chitrala, and the Computational Biology and Medicine Laboratory (CBML) led by Dr. Fatima Merchant. After the CITE experience, the students will have a deeper understanding of how to use in vitro techniques in drug design and therapy.

Center for Public History Internship

Led by Kristina Neumann and Leandra Zarnow, the Center for Public History Internship Program provides students with the opportunity to understand and apply public humanities research. Students apply digital tools and data science to a variety of historical topics.

Chinese Study Abroad

This academically rigorous, culturally enriching faculty-led travel experience offers students a language emersion opportunity to practice Chinese in the classroom and with native speakers in the real world. The program lasts five weeks and offers eight language and culture courses in Taiwan. The grant to Xiaohong ‘Sharon’ Wen and Melody Yunzi Li supported student travel and student-led activities that increase engagement with the Chinese Studies program.

City of Houston Mayor's Office Summer Internships

Led by Sally Connolly, this program places students with Mayor’s Office initiatives on homelessness, education, cultural affairs, economic development, and international and global affairs. 

cloudathon@UH

This grant to Jose C. Martinez, Enrique Barbieri, and  Bret J. Detillier supports the cloudathon@UH, a full-day annual competition that provides industry-relevant experience for cloud-based career roles. Powered by the Amazon Web Services (AWS) platform, students apply their cloud implementation and practical skills.

Community Literacy Engagement

This academic service-learning initiative led by Anne Katz (Education) enables teacher education candidates to create research-based family literacy activities. Each project includes a detailed parent or caregiver letter, which provides an overview of the family literacy activity; materials and props; step-by-step procedures; prompting questions; ideas for differentiation to meet the needs of varied learning styles; and real-world extensions.

Community Nutrition Service Learning with the Houston Food Bank

Through a partnership with the Houston Food Bank led by Kirstin Vollrath, undergraduate ACEND track nutrition students to assist with special projects, including producing short videos, developing recipes, and creating nutrition educational materials.

Coogs NRF Engagement Mentors Program

This grant to Barbara Stewart and Blake Mudd supports the Coogs NRF Engagement Mentors program, which engages students ​across campus with ​the National Retail Federation (NRF) student programs . Student Engagement Mentors participate in high caliber NRF professional training that  provides high-impact preparation for success​ in the retail industry and entrepreneurship. 

Cougar Cognitive Health Initiative

Led by Christina Miyawaki, Cougar Cognitive Health Initiative (CHAIN) collaborates with trained healthcare professionals and students from surrounding universities to organize and carry out a cognitive health booth at health fairs throughout the year. Students trained in mental/cognitive (brain) health assessment skills and assess health fair attendees' mental/cognitive health in real-world settings.

Curating the AR/VR Museum

This interdisciplinary project, led by Tony Liao, Rex Koontz, Elizabeth Rodwell, and Michael Guidry brings together researchers and students from the College of Engineering, College of the Arts, and the UH Library (including the Digital Research Commons) to create novel Augmented/Virtual Reality museum exhibitions and gallery. Students work with the UH System Public Art, the UH Object Laboratory, and the CougAR Lab to create and experience AR/VR exhibitions.

Deliberation Testbed

This grant to Ryan Kennedy trained students in the facilitation of meaningful political deliberation and civic engagement. 

Explore Communication Systems

The Explore Communication Systems program inspires engineering technology students to explore, design, and innovate wireless communication systems using software-defined radio devices.

Engineering Grand Challenges Study Abroad

Dan Burleson and Alex Landon lead this Learning Abroad opportunity. The program combines site visits and expert talks in the Houston with travel to the Netherlands to learn how the Dutch design for a country that is one-third below sea level.

Engineering Technology Capstone @UH

The Engineering Technology Capstone @UH course, led by Enrique Barbieri, Venkatesh Balan, Navdeep Singh, and Wajiha Shireen, provides seniors the opportunity to practice product improvement, manufacturing technology, and engineering operational functions through rigorous projects designed to encourage innovation.

Enhance, Engage, Empower

Joyce Olushola Ogunrinde, David Walsh, and Craig Johnston partner with KIPP Schools, the Houston Independent School District, and the Houston Dynamo and Dash to provide a youth soccer program as part of a research study on the impact of physical education on the cognitive, social, and emotional development of elementary school students. E3 exposes students to research methods and program development and provides practical experience in youth sports and elementary education. 

ExCITEd About Language Science

This grant to Monique T Mills preparesprepares students in Communication Sciences and Disorders with the requisite theoretical and conceptual background to (1) engage children and families in dialogue about body parts that help us speak, hear, think, and breathe (2) to administer clinical assessments of hearing and language to elementary students visiting the Children's Museum Houston. Students will receive direct real-world experience in assessing language skills of children in Houston, preparing them for success in their careers as speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and SLP assistants. Critically, the program will prepare students to be more competitive graduate school applicants and culturally competent clinicians.

Expanding Research Access in STEM at UH

The Expanding Research Access in STEM at the University of Houston (ERAS-UH) program supports undergraduate research at UH in STEM degree plans. Led by Greg Morrison, Martin Nuñez, and Ricardo Azevedo, ERAS-UH provides financial support for undergraduates engaged in research. Participants will present their research in a poster session and be supported to travel to present their work at a scientific conference. Students will also have the opportunity to conduct oral history interviews of scientists under the direction of Mark Goldberg.

FIELDGeo

Field Investigations and Education Leading to Degrees in Geoscience (FieldGeo) provides with opportunities in field and lab research. Led by Peter Copeland, FieldGeo began as a CITE grant program in 2019. In 2023, Copeland received a National Science Foundation grant to support the program for four years.

FrameWorks

This grant provided seed funding to an undergraduate research publication in the interdisciplinary humanities, directed by  Max Rayneard . Students are paired with faculty from the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and the Honors College to research and write articles. 

Global STEM Exchange Colombia

The goal of this Learning Abroad experience led by  Jerrod A. Henderson is to learn how Columbian engineers are responding to the 14 Grand Challenges that impact the world. Students explore how to make solar energy economical, provide access to clean water, and improve infrastructure while also experiencing  Colombian customs and traditions through exchanges with students, faculty, staff, and industry professionals. 

Harris Fellows Program

This grant to the Hobby School of Public Affairs established the Harris Fellows program in 2020. Undergraduates work full-time as summer interns with Harris County government offices focusing on constituent service and policy analysis. Students earn academic credit in political science.

Health Museum Internships

The Honors College and the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics offer students the opportunity to serve as summer interns at the John P. McGovern Museum of Health and Medical Science ( The Health Museum). The internship program is directed by Alison Leland and Mary Ann Ottinger.

Hidden Life of Houston: Discovering Urban Wildlife Diversity

The Hidden Life of Houston project is a course-based undergraduate research experience. Students investigate which species of mammals live alongside humans, which types of urban greenspace they inhabit, and whether wildlife presence or diversity changes seasonally in Greater Houston. Students set up motion-activated trail cameras for 30 days every January, April, July, and October at 36 sites along a survey line stretching from the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center to the UH Coastal Center in La Marque. Reading, hypothesis development, fieldwork, data analysis, and written and oral communication assignments immerse students in the practice of scientific inquiry and communication.

Hobby Fellows Program

This grant to  Renee Cross supported the Harris Fellows Program. Undergraduates work as full-time interns in the Texas Capitol during regular legislative sessions. Students also earn academic credit for their internship.

Illusion, Perception, and Communication

Should seeing really be believing? Perception comes from evolved mechanisms that aim for "good enough to be useful" tradeoffs to support evolutionary fitness. This leads to illusions--false perceptions--that impact our understanding of the world and communication with one another. Students in this program, led by Benjamin Tamber-Rosenau, will complete individual and group research projects on illusions, including a class field trip to the Museum of Illusions, and also engage with research on cultural influences on perception. Together, these activities will show students that perception is far from objective, and that they indeed should question what they see.

Innovative Technology Challenges for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

ITECH-STEM is a summer technology camp program focusing on (STEM + Arts) for students entering the 3rd - 5th grades.  Bulent Dogan has led this program at UH at Sugarland since 2018. The CITE grant supported hiring additional pre-service undergraduate education students to ensure a low student-to-camper ratio in ITECH-STEM. Students strengthen their pedagogical content knowledge through teaching, increase their cultural awareness, gain experience working with students and improve their communication skills.

Learn, Engage, and Develop Efficiently through Research and Service

This grant to The Learn, Engage, and Develop Efficiently through Research and Service (LEADERS) program, led by Bulent Dogan, is created a new program for pre-service education majors and natural sciences majors interested in elementary education. Students serve as mentors during an online Saturday morning educational program for elementary and middle school students.

Learning Away Scholarships

This grant to Dustin Gish funds scholarships for students participating in faculty-led domestic travel and supported the development of new faculty-led Learning Away experiences. 

Mars Rover Explorers

This grant to Heather Domjan and  Lionnel Ronduen  funds Mars Rover Explorers camp, where UH pre-service teachers and STEM undergraduate students serve as mentors to 3rd-8th grade students. Mentors receive curriculum and lesson plan training while becoming immersed in leadership experiences focused on being culturally competent and socially responsible.

News-Academic Partnership

Led by, Lindita Camaj, this project will establish a collaboration with Community Impact, a news organization that distributes hyperlocal news and information in Texas, to engage journalism students at the University of Houston to report data-driven stories for local audiences in the Houston Metro area. This project will provide a laboratory for students to experience the real-world working conditions in newsrooms - including dynamics, ethical choices, and collaborative efforts - through experiential learning.

Next Generation Leadership Academy

The program provides experiential learning opportunities and specialized academic courses to equip candidates for outstanding careers.

In this program led by Renee Cross, students learn critical tools critical for collaboration between the public and private sectors and develop informed solutions that address community and governmental challenges. Next Generation Leadership Academy students also benefit from the professional skills development and strategic networking through Hobby School internship programs in Houston, Austin, and Washington, D.C.

Oral History Project with Houston Holocaust Museum

The Sephardic Latinx Oral History Project, led by  Mark Goldberg, is a Latina/o Jewish history course that allows students the opportunity to participate in an oral history project by interviewing members of Houston’s Sephardic Latinx community. Students learn how to recover and document history in a public-facing manner that engages with local communities.

PlantCellTech

This program led by Abdul Latif Khan provides an opportunity students to expand their plant cell technology knowledge, skills, and abilities.  Students grow plants, extract and analyze DNA, construct vectors, conduct PCR analysis, transform Agrobacterium-mediated genes, and isolate, purify, and quantify therapeutic metabolites. The students perform research work in teams through the capstone research experience class in the Biotechnology Program.

Pre-Law Internship

The Pre-Law Internship, developed by Jeffrey Church and Lydia Tiede, gives undergraduate students real-world experience of legal practice to help them to determine if they would like to pursue careers in law.

Program for Supporting and Mentoring Students with Autism

PSMSA, led by Dr.  Byron Ross,  was established to provide additional support to undergraduates who identify as neurodiverse. Students are matched with peer mentors who provide additional support in three primary areas: Organization, Personal Responsibility, and Social Engagement. Undergraduate mentors are trained to provide support to adults with autism spectrum disorders.

Research for Aspiring Coogs in the Humanities (REACH)

This grant the  Office of Undergraduate Research and Major Awards  provided seed funding for a year-long introductory research experience for humanities majors. Students are connected to research opportunities tied to existing projects. REACH reduces the barriers that humanities students often face when seeking to become involved in research. 

Retailing and Consumer Science Internships

During the Internship in Retailing and Consumer Science, led by Shirley Ezell, interns learn to systematically evaluate the benefits and performance of an organization so that they can contribute to management, merchandising, financial, e-commerce and training responsibilities. Interns also learn to use social media as a business tool for engaging with and serving community retailers more fully. This experience prepares interns for executive-level responsibilities in the retail industry and gives them valuable insight into how a successful organization must strategically plan, innovate, lead and sustain a competitive advantage.

Retailing and Human Resources Abroad

Led by   Olivia Johnson and  Daiane Polesello ,Retailing and Human Resources Abroad is a  ten-day faculty-led travel experience in Paris and Milan. Students meet with industry professionals and engage in cultural activities.

Sight and Hearing for Success

This program was previously Sight for Success.   Chereece N. Andrews has joined Lee McWilliams  and  Pat Segu in leading this program , and it has been expanded to provide both vision and hearing services for children in the Houston Independent School District. Students from  the College of Nursing, College of Optometry, and the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders will work together as an inter-professional team to provide these services. Students learn about social determinants of health and educational success, program implementation and management in community and school settings, while working together as an inter-professional team. 

Social Economy and Enterprise Academy

Led by  German Cubas Pablo Pinto, and Piruz Saboury, SEEA assists nonprofit organizations with meeting goals.  Student teams work closely with the NGO leaders to develop  social enterprise ideas, conduct quantitative research or create a venture plan.

Spanish for the Global Professions Internships

This grant to Laura Zubiate (CLASS) supported the development of an internship program within SPAN 3339 Spanish for the Global Professions. This internship provides students with real-world experience that  improves their communication skills, enhances their cultural competencies, and increases their awareness of community needs and their own social responsibility. 

St. Elmo Brady STEM Academy (SEBA)

SEBA led by Dr.  Jerrod Henderson and Ricky Greer  seeks to empower youth to become the next generation of scientists, engineers, and mathematicians. SEBA emphasizes building relationships with role models, including the student’s family, UH students, and community volunteers. SEBA also partners with teachers to align program curricula with Next Generation Science Standards, especially engineering design-related ones. 

STEAM Lab

Public Art UHS and the UH STEM Center are teaming up to provide K-12 students STEAM art campus tours and educational activities that activate the art collection at the University of Houston. STEAM Lab highlights the connection between Visual Art and STEM and the creative practices shared between the two fields of study. Debra Barrera, Heather Domjan, and Lionel Ronduen mentor undergraduates as they develop lesson plans aligned with Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills.

Stimulating Urban Renewal through Entrepreneurship (SURE)

This grant to Saleha Khumawala and Charlie Becker of the Stimulating Urban Renewal through Entrepreneurship (SURE) program  supported the development of a second semester course for students who have successfully served as consultants to entrepreneurs in the SURE program.

CITE also awarded a grant to Nouhad Rizk, who developed the SURE Computer Science Consulting Clinic, in which CS students assist SURE entrepreneurs with programming and web design.

UH Stem Outreach Squad

UH STEM Outreach Squad, managed by Heather Domjan, and Lionnel Ronduen, is a program designed for pre-service education majors and natural sciences majors interested in education. The Squad serves as mentors for in-person and hybrid Saturday programs for grades 3-12.

Undergraduate Student Instrument Program

Through an award to Edgar Bering,   Shuhab Khan, and  Mequanint Mogues, CITE supported student travel for research in Fairbanks, Alaska. With faculty guidance, students conducted research on balloon-borne and ground-based space, earth, and atmospheric science investigations. 

Undergraduate Summer Shadowing Program

The Undergraduate Summer Shadowing Program, led by Dr. Kenya Steele and Dr. Kendra Jackson, is an opportunity for students interested in pursuing medical education to shadow a practicing physician for four-weeks. Participants will gain experience in the clinical setting while building connections with practicing physicians, College of Medicine faculty, and fellow students. In addition to clinical experience, participants will attend workshops that give valuable information on the pathway to medical school.

Undergraduate Summer Teaching Artist Fellowships

The Undergraduate Summer Teaching Artist (STA)  Fellowship program led by Evan Leslie provides a select team of students with real-world experience teaching, leading, and performing during two intensive high school summer learning experiences: the inaugural UH High School Artist Academy and the Mexica Mariachi Festival. STAs observe experienced educators creating lesson plans and facilitating group learning activities about art, music, storytelling, wellness, and other topics. 

Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Internships

Led by Elizabeth Gregory and Guillermo de los Reyes, this project supports the development and expansion of the infrastructure supporting the internship courses in the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies major and the GLBT minor.

World Cultures and Literatures Internship Program

The World Cultures and Literatures Internship Program, developed by Emran El-Badawi and led by Mohan Ambikaipaker, is an internship program that gives students the opportunity to apply language, culture, and global studies into the workplace.