Undergraduate Research Opportunities

We offer undergraduate research opportunities through the department and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences REU program. The Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program is a grant-based summer program held by universities across the nation to enhance undergraduate participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) research. For 10 weeks, REU students participate in real-world scientific investigations under the guidance of a faculty mentor and receive both a stipend and housing for the duration of the program. 

Associating the quality of diet with food outlet spending

Grace Melo Guerrero, Ph.D.

A possible REU student project explores the association of spending patterns across different outlet types such as farmers’ markets, supermarkets, convenience stores with the quality of diet measured by the Healthy Eating Index. Other factors that affect the quality of diet, such as costs of food and socio-demographic information, will also be considered in the analysis.

Selling a small business to fund retirement

James Mjelde, Ph.D.

Many small business owners plan to sell their business to fund their retirement. Often business success requires expansion and capital expenditures. This increase, however, can make finding a buyer to purchase the business for a fair market value when the owner plans on retiring difficult, especially in rural areas. For this project, students will examine this issue using a pilot study of Texas A&M students and their parents.