Quantitative Research in the Life and Social Sciences Program (QRLSSP)

Formerly Mathematical and Theoretical Biology Institute

Quantitative Research in the Life and Social Sciences Program (QRLSSP)—formerly Mathematical and Theoretical Biology Institute (MTBI) supports the development of students through educational, research and mentorship activities from the undergraduate to the postdoctoral level. Its programs include intensive multiple-summer research training institutes, long-term support for its alumni, continuous research opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students and opportunities for national and international visitors.

The Quantitative Research in the Life and Social Sciences Program (QRLSSP) is an intensive summer research experience that prepares undergraduate students for the rigors of graduate level research at the interface of mathematics, statistics, and the natural and social sciences. Select students are invited to Arizona State University for eight weeks, where their time is split between classroom instruction on research methods and hands-on research projects.

QRLSSP is a research experience for undergraduates (REU); it is not an internship, and students will NOT earn college credit for participation.  This program is an excellent introduction to graduate research, and provides students with housing, subsistence, and a stipend while allowing them to explore what an advanced degree can entail.

Participants receive intensive instruction in dynamical systems, stochastic processes, computational methods and modeling delivered by top scientists and guest speakers from around the country and the  world.  A wide variety of topics is presented each summer, in order to provide students with real-life examples and to expose them to new areas of study.

At QRLSSP, students do not work alone.  Everything, from homework to research, exists in a collaborative environment with fellow participants, graduate students, postdoctoral students, and visiting scholars.  Students work in self-selected groups on research problems of their own choosing, while collaborating with experienced faculty and graduate student mentors. Students choose their topics from a . By the end of the summer, students have complete a high-quality technical report and research poster, which are presented at national conferences to an audience of their peers and colleagues.