Research
Academic Research at USF
Scholarly and creative research fosters a positive, collaborative environment where students thrive. The University of Sioux Falls fully engages students at the undergraduate and graduate level through transformational research opportunities that enhance critical thinking skills and provide real-world experience for students entering the job market or pursuing advanced degree programs.
The University of Sioux Falls also offers opportunities for students to work with faculty scholars in a variety of fields. Listed below are several research opportunities available to undergraduate and graduate students.
Undergraduate Opportunities
The Research Symposium provides opportunities for undergraduate students to hone their professional skills especially in speaking and writing, to grow as scholars, add to their resumes and cultivate relationships from different disciplines.
Sixteenth Annual USF Research Symposium
March 27, 2025 | 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. | Cleveland Center
Keynote Speaker: David O'Hara
The Research Symposium provides opportunities to hone professional skills especially in speaking and writing, to grow as a scholar, add to your resume and cultivate relationships from different disciplines.
The permanent theme of the USF Research Symposium is Fresh Perspectives. Undergraduates in all disciplines are encouraged to submit a recent research project for presentation. Student-faculty collaborative projects are also encouraged. Presentations are 15-20 minutes and tailored for oral presentation. A panel of faculty review proposals and then develop panels.
As with most academic conferences, the primary goal of the symposium is to provide a friendly, supportive and collegial venue for the exchange of and debate over research, information and ideas. The symposium strives to emulate the environment of a professional conference: panels of presenters, faculty moderators and a plenary speaker.
The purpose of the Consortium is to promote the betterment of computer-oriented curricula in two- and four-year colleges and universities; to improve the use of computing as an educational resource for all disciplines; to encompass regional constituencies devoted to this purpose and to promote a national liaison among local, regional and national organizations also devoted to this purpose.
USF is a partner institution of the South Dakota Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network (BRIN) which provides natural sciences students with an opportunity to be involved in research projects on campus.
Students who graduate with a Biology major are exposed to traditional and laboratory courses and are encouraged to participate in undergraduate research. USF is a partner institution of the South Dakota Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network (BRIN) which provides students with an opportunity to be involved in research projects on campus.
BRIN has been funded by the National Center for Research Resources (NIH) since 2001. They have several Cores (proteomics, genomics, bioinformatics and west core) with about 80 members.
The University of Sioux Falls participates in the Mathematics on the Northern Plains Undergraduate Conference and recently hosted the 19th annual conference on campus. This event allows undergraduate students from all universities in the region to present results of their mathematical research or projects.
Math on the Northern Plains Undergraduate Conference was established in the spring of 1999 by assistant professor Zsuzsanna Szaniszlo and Dr. Daniel Schaal, with a grant from Exxon.
The Fulbright Student Program is a program that offers fellowships abroad for one academic year to graduating college seniors, graduate students, young professionals, scientists and artists. USF recently hosted a Fulbright Day, where a Fulbright Outreach Representative met with students who were interested in applying for the program.
Researching at USF has prepared me for the future as I now know what capability I have for pursuing my career as an actuary. I’ve been told before that the actuarial exams are difficult to pass, but I have more confidence in myself than I did before because of my ability to sit down and work on something that I am dedicated to.
— Applied Mathematics major Austin Nordike
Graduate Opportunities
The Fredrikson School of Education hosts the Graduate Research Conference which gives education students an opportunity to present their research in the field of education. The event is hosted every spring on USF's campus.
The Johnson Leadership Forum gives MBA students the opportunity to present their research findings to the USF campus community. It also celebrates the accomplishments of professional studies graduates and the 11 students that completed the first-ever 12-month MBA Program.
I can confidently say that my time spent in the nursing program, the honors program and throughout my liberal arts curriculum has really equipped me with the ability to consider things from different perspectives—to think critically and to ask more probing questions. Hopefully, these skills will give me the ability to adapt and adjust in a new culture, and also to remain open-minded about the new things that will inevitably be coming my way during my time in Bulgaria!
— Nursing major Moira Duffy, Fulbright English Teaching Assistant, Bulgaria