A Program Overview

Our CSUR program is designed to provide Fordham undergraduates an opportunity to conduct an independent research project under the guidance of a Fordham University faculty mentor. Select undergraduates receive a $5,000 stipend and free on-site housing to do summer research in a variety of biological fields. This program typically runs for 10 weeks, early-June through early-August.

Not Your Typical Summer Internship

Work closely with ecologists at the Calder Center, Fordham’s biological field station near the village of Armonk, NY, in a hilly, wooded region of northern Westchester County. The 113-acre site includes forest, streams, and a 10- acre lake. Learn more about the Louis Calder Center.

In addition, you will have access to study sites at nearby ecosystems, such as:

• Adirondack State Park
• Bear Mountain State Park
• Black Rock Forest
• Catskills Mountains
• Finger Lakes National Forest
• Fire Island National Seashore
• Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve (HERR)
• Harriman State Park
• Mianus River Gorge
• Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge
• Sterling Forest
• The Appalachian Trail

And several major scientific institutions are nearby, including

• Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
• Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
• New York Botanical Garden
• Bronx Zoo

Design and Conduct Your Own Independent Research

In the 10-week intensive program, you will complete a research project of your own design, attend short courses on conducting ecological field studies and data analysis, and make a presentation of their findings to researchers in the area and members of the station. Learn more about the curriculum and schedule.

Examples of recent undergraduate student projects include:

• Wax esters and White-nose Syndrome
• The detection of mosquito eDNA in larval habitats
• Phycocyanin as an estimator of bloom-forming cyanobacteria
• Effects of urbanization on blood glucose in pigeons
• The effects of selection for divergence in flowering time in Brassica rapa (field mustard)
• Using urban habitat suitability modeling in multiple cities to describe patterns of rat movement

See more undergraduate student projects.

The research areas of our faculty mentors include:

• Avian Ecology, Behavioral Ecology, and Conservation Biology – J. Alan Clark, Associate Professor
• Vector ecology, Lyme disease – Thomas J. Daniels, Calder Center Director, Associate Research Scientist
• Medical entomology, West Nile Virus ecology – Richard C. Falco, Associate Research Scientist
• Behavioral, Physiological and Biochemical Adaptations of Mammals – Craig Frank, Associate Professor
• Plant Ecology and Evolution – Steven Franks, Professor
• Plant and Microbial Community and Ecosystem Ecology – J.D. Lewis, Professor
• Animal Behavior, Population Genetics, Urban Ecology – Jason Munshi-South, Professor
• Aquatic Ecology, Ecology and Physiology of Algae – John D. Wehr, Professor