Academic Outreach Program - Objectives

To engage students at the high school and collegiate levels, we have initiated a one-day workshop program where students discuss opportunities in chemistry (educational, occupational, and beyond) with a panel of chemistry faculty and students. The main objectives for the workshop are as follows:

I. Discussion of Research Frontiers:

Part of the workshop agenda is to expose students to how basic chemistry is evolving today with research presentations from participating faculty, postdocs, and students. From the presentations, we hope students will see how basic chemistry research impacts areas from medicine to emerging technologies in biology and environmental/energy research. For more details, see our program outline (click to access PDF).

II. Undergraduate Research Opportunities:

A presentation is given detailing how students can get involved in research. The research opportunities are divided into three subsections: opportunities internal to Harvard and its affiliates, opportunities external to Harvard, and government funded opportunities.

III. Applying to Graduate School:

The third section of the program deals with the application process to graduate school; discussing standardized tests, selection criteria, graduate program selection, and milestones on the Ph D path.

IV. Break-out Discussion Groups:

The final section of the workshop involves small discussion groups where students can ask questions directly with section leaders regarding research, career goals, etc. The open forum aspect is to encourage general discussion between faculty and student participants.