ICLES

The Illinois Consortium for Life & Environmental Sciences (ICLES), funded by the Walder Foundation, is an Alliance of institutions of higher education centered on fostering student research experiences and professional development opportunities.

Within our consortium of institutions, ICLES students will participate in research experiences on their primary campus, access professional development webinars, present research at our annual conference, and engage in summer internships both on campus and in competitive programs sponsored by non-affiliated institutions. Through these activities, along with extensive faculty mentorship, ICLES prepares students for successful completion of a STEM degree.

ICLES primary goals are:

1. Offer paid research experiences to students from the partnering organizations.
2. Offer professional development opportunities to students from partnering organizations.

 

Chicago State University, through the Center for STEM Education and Research, serves as the lead institution for ICLES. Participating students may engage in research at their primary institution within the ICLES Consortium. These institutions include:

The Illinois Consortium for Life and Environmental Sciences (ICLES)
2-Year Institutions	4-Year Institutions
Prairie State College (PSC)	Chicago State University (CSU)
Morton College (MC)	DePaul University (DPU)
Malcolm X College (MCX)	Governors State University (GSU)
	Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT)
	Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU)
	Saint Augustine College at Lewis University (SACLU)
	Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE)
	The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC)
	The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS)

 

On each partner campus, the Illinois Consortium for Life & Environmental Sciences has a Project Coordinator. The Project Coordinator is responsible for matching interested students with faculty members who are actively engaged in research on their campuses.

To find the Project Coordinator on your campus, please email us at cser@csu.edu

Faculty members actively engaged in research can alert their campus Project Coordinator to be matched with an interested student, or they may identify a student and encourage them to apply for the program. Once faculty have been matched with a student, they should 1) compose a short research plan (title, project overview, duration), and 2) an overview of student outcomes (paper, conference presentation) for inclusion in the student application.

Faculty members participating in the program receive a stipend for their research mentorship as well as funds for research supplies.

Students interested in participating in ICLES should connect with their Project Coordinator or a faculty member to express their interest. The ICLES program does NOT require prior research experience.

During the program students will have a clear understanding of their research responsibilities, duration of project, time commitment, and final outcomes from their research mentor and/or project coordinator. Students are expected to participate in the ICLES Spring Research Symposium to be held in February.

Once a student is matched with an active researcher, they should apply.

Application requirements: Identified research mentor Minimum 2.75 GPA Unofficial transcript Personal statement Two (2) letters of recommendation Identified research mentor Professional mentor (professor, supervisor, counselor, program director, etc.) Document from your identified research mentor: Research plan and student outcomes letter Once all materials are submitted, your application will be reviewed by ICLES. Both student and their research mentor will receive notification of project approval and an offer letter to become a part of the ICLES cohort.

 

For more information, contact:

The Center for STEM Education & Research

Chicago State University

(773) 995-3296

cser@csu.edu