About CIRCL Partnerships
The purpose of the CIRCL Partnerships project is to create and strengthen connections between community-based organizations working toward equity, and members of the University at Buffalo. Each partnership helps prepare doctoral students for community-invested scholarship by placing them with an organization for a shared research project. Students learn in a supportive community to contextualize their research for a particular public audience, to engage collaboratively in research processes, and to use science to work for change within their communities.
Current Projects
Just Equations is working with Shannon Brewer to understand how calculus access before college entry are related to STEM course-taking and other higher education outcomes among underserved students. This project expands on a report from Just Equations about the unnecessary barriers that BIPOC and low-income students often face due to current course requirements at many institutions.
Wise Young Builders is working with Aimee Clawson to understand how to best assess youth learning and engagement in an out-of-school program that teaches youth ages 8-12 years mathematics and cognitive skills through hands-on construction projects.
Interested in learning more about CIRCL Partnerships? Here’s how it works:
Goals for the Partnerships:
- Expand the research capacity of community/nonprofit organizations or coalitions
- Provide professional research and contextualized learning opportunities for students
- Expanding community-invested research
- Scale-up/Increase number of public-university partnerships year to year
- Share reflections with UB faculty and staff, students and the larger community
Partner Commitment:
- Commit to one or two academic semesters, with summer participation possible
- Identify mutual research interest between your organization and the student
- Provide insight/guidance on the topic of interest
- Present and agree upon clear project goals objectives and deliverables
- Opportunity to participate in two interviews, one at the start and one near the end of the project
Student Commitment:
- Commit to one or two semesters during which PhD program credits will be earned
- Create a mutually agreed upon research project with equity organization
- Maintain professionalism in advancing partner organizational goals through field project
- Opportunity to participate in two interviews, one at the start and one near the end of the project