URSA Engage
https://undergradresearch.oregonstate.edu
Eligibility
To participate in URSA engage, you must…
- be in your first or second year at OSU (including transfer students in their first year)
- be enrolled in 6+ credits
- be seeking your first undergraduate degree
- submit only 1 application to work with 1 faculty mentor
If you participated in URSA Engage previously, you are still eligible to apply. However, preference will be given to students who have not previously been part of the program.
My URSA project
- Continuing research on literature anthologies. Earlier work was published in the most selective journal in literary studies.
- BBCF and BBSF are examples of anthologies
- The purpose of the project is to create data that can be used to study which authors and stories are selected for the literary canon, and how that has changed over time.
Opportunities
I can only select one student this year, but I have two discrete opportunities depending on who expresses interest, and what they are interested in doing:
- For students interested in literature, you can enter data from new anthologies (optionally anthologies of your own choice with my approval) into a preexisting database, and suggest new lines of research with the resulting data.
- No technical background required.
- For students interested in AI, machine learning, and data science, we’re going to attempt to automate extraction of structured data from PDFs of anthology tables of contents.
- Technical background required.
Additional funding
Students in the College of Liberal Arts who are selected for URSA research are also eligible for Scholarships for Student Experiential Learning, which can provide additional funding between $1,000 and $5,000.
Talking about this opportunity
- You can speak to me before or after class
- You can attend the open networking opportunity this afternoon from 1 to 3pm in Moreland 322
- Email me if neither of those work for you
If you’re not interested in my project…
But you are interested in getting research experience, check out the Faculty Mentor Summaries for other opportunities!
Application deadline
By 11:59 PM on Dec. 1, 2026
Quiz
Debate!
Motions
- By the end of “The Fate of the Poseidonia” by Clare Winger Harris, George Gregory is insane.
- In “The Conquest of Gola” by Leslie F. Stone, Gola is a better society than Detaxal.
- In “September 2005: The Martian” by Ray Bradbury, LaFarge is responsible for the Martian’s death.
Rules
- Openings (45 sec each): pro, then con.
- Rebuttal (3 min): open floor.
- Closings (45 sec each): con, then pro.
Preparation
- Each team gets time to prepare their arguments
- Determine who will speak when (e.g., opening, closing, etc.)
- On-call students should be sure to contribute
Strategy
- Find evidence from the text to support your points
- Figure out what your opponents will likely argue, then plan how you will respond
- Put pressure on the proposition
- e.g., in an unrelated argument: “Oat milk is better for you than cow milk.” “‘Better’ in what way?”
Motions
- By the end of “The Fate of the Poseidonia” by Clare Winger Harris, George Gregory is insane. (1 says yes; 2 says no.)
- In “The Conquest of Gola” by Leslie F. Stone, Gola is a better society than Detaxal. (3 says yes; 4 says no.)
- In “September 2005: The Martian” by Ray Bradbury, LaFarge is responsible for the Martian’s death. (5 says yes; 6 says no.)
Reflection
- Was finding evidence for your position easier or harder than you would have expected?
- Did your assigned position change your reading of the text?
For Tuesday
- “The Liberation of Earth” by William Tenn (BBSF 240)
- “The Last Question” by Isaac Asimov (BBSF 300)