Elizabethtown College students are gaining high-impact experiences this summer, working closely with faculty and staff mentors on campus to perform independent student research as part of the annual Summer Creative Arts and Research Program (SCARP) program.
This summer, over 35 Etown students are actively engaged in 24 hands-on, student-led research projects. Throughout the next several weeks, our Etown 2024 SCARP Series will showcase their intriguing work, from documenting British culture through travel writing during a trip abroad in the U.K. to exploring the feasibility of offsetting campus electricity consumption through solar power.
View an interactive recap of last year’s SCARP projects and learn more about the program below.
What is SCARP?
SCARP was created to support independent student scholarship under the sponsorship of a faculty or staff mentor. The program is a non-credit experiential learning program designed to enhance professional skills and provide a competitive advantage to participating students in the pursuit of career opportunities and graduate studies.
Participating faculty/staff scholars and researchers also benefit from student involvement in support of professional scholarship and research agendas.
What do students receive for participating?
Students receive a training stipend, free room, and board for the duration of their projects (from 4 to 12 weeks), and professional experience as part of a scholarship/research community.
They also benefit from highly personalized mentoring from active researchers and scholars. SCARP also fulfills one of the two required Signature Learning Experiences (SLE) for Etown students.
What is the result of this research?
Each summer, Etown students share their research projects at the annual Landmark Summer Research Symposium, which takes place each July and is entering its 15th year.
Students will also have an opportunity to share their scholarship with the Etown campus community during an on-campus research presentation event on Thursday, June 20 from 1 to 4:30 p.m. in the Susquehanna Room, Myer Hall. This session is open to the public.
Hear from SCARP Participants
“I believe getting involved in SCARP is a wonderful opportunity for any professor here at Etown. For me, the most rewarding aspect of the program is the opportunity to work with students on research topics of mutual interest. There is also the opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration which I find extremely appealing.” – Dr. Sakar Sigdel, Assistant Professor of Mathematical Sciences
“Professor (Emily) Frantz has always supported me and my goals. Fall of 2022 was when I first went to her and said, ‘I want to normalize music therapy in the VA’ and through our SCARP project, we took steps to accomplish that goal together.” – Nicole Pinnella ’24, Music Therapy graduate
“It is a joy to work with students on projects that they are passionate about. SCARP gives me the opportunity to support student curiosity and to see them realize how exciting and fun research can be.” – Dr. T. Evan Smith, Associate Professor of Psychology