Gain professional skills, work alongside engaged professors and peers, and tackle real-world problems through research that begins on day one of your freshman year!
As part of Day1 you can:
Investigate how humans are changing the microbiology and chemistry of our local rivers
and lakes- Create a prototype product to solve a real-world design problem
- Learn professional geology skills while exploring Northern Michigan
- Discover a new virus and investigate its genome
- Build friendships with other Day1 students
Each Day1 course program explores unique questions using science, mathematics and engineering techniques. The Day1 programs are part of your first-year academic coursework 鈥� each program will count towards your graduation requirements. Become part of the program that best fits your interests today!
Why Day1?
- Improve our world during your college experience
- Join an inclusive and diverse community of support and friendship
- Work closely with upper-class student and faculty mentors
- Through authentic research, gain critical thinking skills and problem solving skills that will be valuable to all careers
Find the Day1 program that鈥檚 right for you
- Design
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Student engineers tackle a real-world design challenge. Team up with other first-year engineering students to explore the challenge, develop possible technological solutions and present prototypes. Join a dynamic community of peers and mentors while doing engineering in a real-world context.
Faculty MentorsDr. Jeffrey Christians and Dr. Katharine Polasek
- Michigan Rocks
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Travel to northern Michigan in this immersion experience before classes begin! Join upper-level classmen and faculty mentors to explore Michigan鈥檚 geological history through study of rock formations, ancient volcanoes, mineral deposits, fossil-rich inland seas and footprints of glaciers. Through your exploration, you will learn skills that professional geologists and environmental scientists use.
Faculty Mentors
Dr. Brian Bodenbender and Dr. Sarah Dean
- Peatlands
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Participate in an active research project investigating the impact of climate change on Michigan ecosystems. Start a week before classes begin and bond with your peers (both first-year students and upperclassman TAs) during a three-day field trip to Michigan鈥檚 Upper Peninsula. Back on campus, you will use the samples you collected in an authentic research project on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from these important ecosystems 鈥� all while developing essential chemistry lab techniques.
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Michael Philben
- Phage Discovery & Genomics Research
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Discover the hidden world around you. Join your classmates and other student-scientists from schools all across the U.S. and beyond in a hunt for phages 鈥� viruses that infect bacteria. Day1: Phage Discovery allows you to isolate, characterize and name your newly discovered phage in a process of exploration that culminates with the opportunity to sequence the DNA of your phage and explore its genome. All discoveries are shared in public databases used by researchers across the world as part of a nationally recognized research program.
Faculty Mentors
Dr. Joseph Stukey and Dr. Aaron Best
Visit the Day1: Phage Discovery & Genomics Research page to learn more
- Watershed
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Learn microbiology, environmental and chemical techniques as you investigate the health of our local Matacatawa watershed. Build community with other first-year students, upperclass TAs and faculty mentors a week before classes start. Continue through the academic year with an interdisciplinary team contributing to discoveries that support ongoing, long-term efforts by the community to improve our watershed.
Faculty Mentors
Dr. Aaron Best, Dr. Kenneth Brown, Dr. Brent Krueger, Dr. Michael Philben, Dr. Mike Pikaart and Dr. Brian Yurk
workP. 616.395.7405
day1@hope.edu