The Office of Research and Creative Arts (ORCA) believes that research and creative work is integral to the development of the student, both as a budding scholar and as an individual, and that engaging in student research is a transformational experience that is highly beneficial to students, faculty and the greater university community. We focus on the use of research and creative work as an opportunity for high-impact, active learning that provides both disciplinary and life tools, allowing students one-on-one experience with faculty mentors in their disciplines as well as real-life experience with critical thinking, intellectual independence, problem solving and creative solutions.
ORCA is committed to inclusive excellence, and strives to increase engagement from LMU’s entire student body, including first generation college students and students from underrepresented groups. The goal of ORCA is to provide opportunities for all LMU students to raise the quality and profile of their work and to disseminate their research and creative results within and beyond LMU.
The Rains Research Assistant Program supports faculty research by providing financial support for faculty to hire a student research assistant. In addition, the program allows students to develop research experiences and close collaborations with their faculty and other members of their research group. The program follows the academic calendar, Summer Session I - Spring Semester.
This program is available to all full-time tenured & tenure-track faculty. Faculty members on a leave of absence are not eligible.
PLEASE NOTE THAT RAINS has multiple submission and review dates. These dates are not strict deadlines, but should be used by faculty as guidelines on when they will hear back about their applications. The date of faculty submission (not Chair approval) will be considered for review dates.
- Submissions submitted by May 1, 2024 will be reviewed by May 10, 2024
- Submissions submitted by May 31, 2024 will be reviewed by June 7, 2024
- Submissions submitted by August 2, 2024 will be reviewed by August 9, 2024
- Submissions submitted by August 23, 2024 will be reviewed by August 30, 2024
- Submissions submitted by September 15, 2024 will be reviewed by September 20, 2024
- Submissions submitted by October 4, 2024 will be reviewed by October 11, 2024
Note: If there are remaining funds, applications submitted after October 4 will be reviewed by November 15, 2024 and February 3, 2025.