Minor in Research Ecosystems

The minor in Research Ecosystems was developed and launched in 2025, in collaboration with partners across the university. The research ecosystem minor is an undergraduate curriculum that develops foundational skills across research ecosystems in various research domains. The minor is built on the premise that all research domains are increasing their research endeavors, including art, engineering, health, and education, and require trained and qualified professionals with expertise in both the research ecosystem and the content of their chosen domain.

The minor’s courses focus on the competencies in job descriptions for various research ecosystem positions and the necessary skills to ensure the successful management and administration of research. Successful completion of the minor contributes to the building of a professional staff infrastructure supporting research teams as they create impactful research. In addition to didactic and skills-building courses, students complete the minor with an internship focused on a research ecosystem position of their choice and within their research domain. This is a career-focused minor with the primary outcome being employed as a member of the research team. The minor is designed to be accessible for all majors fostering diversity, inclusivity, and specialized content knowledge and skill sets.

Outcomes

Demonstrate professionalism and effective oral and written communication across team-based operations in varied research domains.
Analyze ethical, regulatory, and legal issues in the research ecosystem and professions.
Discuss the infrastructure that supports diverse research domains.
Implement team science and project management principles in diverse research domains.
Explain the roles and responsibilities across the life cycle of an externally funded project.

Curriculum

The curriculum is focused on the interdisciplinary nature of team science utilizing team members’ diverse set of skills to implement successful research. The curriculum consists of 18 credit hours. The curriculum has been developed by a core set of research operation content experts. Courses include:

Ethical, Legal, Regulation, and Compliance Issues within the Research Ecosystem (3 credits)
Managing Innovations Across the Research Ecosystem (3 credits)
Study and Site Management Essentials (3 credits)
Introduction to Team Science and Project Management (3 credits)
Open selection of relevant courses leveraging existing VCU undergraduate courses (3 credits): including, but not limited to: accounting, finance, project management, communications, data management (to be determined and approved by departments).
Internship – 120 hours of experience embedded within a research operations team (dependent upon student’s preference). (3 credits).

Courses are offered via online synchronous instruction.

Adjunct Instructors