REU Site: Botany and Conservation Biology Research at the Missouri Botanical Garden
Missouri Botanical Garden·Saint Louis, MO·2026 cycle
Closed for cycleIntegrative BiologyEcology/Conservation/Evolutionary Biology✓ verified
This REU program at one of the world's leading botanical research institutions will provide opportunities for 8 students to do independent mentored research projects in subjects including taxonomy and systematics of flowering plants and mosses, population genetics, restoration ecology, and conservation biology. Students will be trained in all aspects of research, including project design, background research using library and electronic resources, methods, data collection and analysis, and presentation of results in a poster, public research symposium, and written report. They will also participate in weekly professional enrichment sessions dedicated to topics including improving writing skills, ethics in research, intellectual property rights, getting into and succeeding in graduate school, and botany-related career options. Participants will be housed in group Garden apartments and will have access to the Garden’s herbarium of more than 7.5 million specimens, an excellent botanical library, rich garden collections, laboratory facilities, and the Shaw Nature Reserve, a 2,400 acre ecological preserve.
botany, taxonomy, systematics, ecology, restoration, population genetics, conservation biology
Participating students must be U.S. citizens, nationals, or permanent residents who are enrolled in an undergraduate program and will not be graduating before the fall 2026 semester. Students from schools with limited research infrastructure (no PhD programs in related fields) and others who may benefit most from the experience (for example, first generation students, or students from schools that have limited coursework and research options in botany or ecology) are particularly encouraged to apply. For many potential projects, knowledge of botanical terminology, statistics, or genetics will be very helpful, so applicants who have taken relevant classes or have other experience will be stronger candidates.
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