Innovation and discovery at NC State happens with your help. Faculty with participatory projects offer ways for curious people anywhere, any time, to engage meaningfully during their spare time. Past projects have involved North Carolinians in testing drinking water quality, sampling household microbes, sharing about sourdough starters, assessing soundscapes, measuring refrigerator temperatures, and reporting tree diseases, to name a few. 

As faculty launch new projects, they need pilot testers to be the first to try it out and give feedback for improvement. When projects are ready, sometimes there are launch parties or similar special events. 

Citizen Science Incubator

Do you have a research question that can only be answered through the engagement of a community interested in helping? The Citizen Science Incubator provides training and consultative support for getting your project off the ground. Projects may also be selected to be highlighted through the Citizen Science Campus!

NC State SciStarter

For current opportunities to engage in NC State citizen science projects, visit our SciStarter page to discover projects matching your interests.

Pack Science Challenge

Through periodic challenges to participate in campus-based studies led by NC State investigators, the Pack Science Challenge engages students as collaborators in ongoing research about their environment.

Citizen Science Club

Citizen Science Club at NC State consists of undergraduate NC State students advocating for scientific research as an interdisciplinary endeavor. This club welcomes students of any degree to become involved in spreading science throughout campus and to the surrounding community. This club works closely with faculty on campus as well as in the NC Museum of Natural Sciences through participation in citizen science projects and volunteering.

Graduate Certificate in Participatory Sciences

The Global One Health Academy offers a Graduate Certificate in Participatory Sciences. The program trains graduate students to address pressing global issues through collaboration with the public on scientific research, and it includes instruction in competencies related to public science, science communication, data management and visualization, and informal science education.

Participatory Sciences Microgrants

Students enrolled in the Graduate Certificate in Participatory Sciences are eligible to apply for microgrants offered by the Global One Health Academy to pilot independent participatory science projects. A call for proposals will be sent to enrolled students annually in the spring, with the number and amounts of awarded grants to be determined based on funding availability.

AAPS Membership

NC State is an organizational affiliate of the Association for Advancing Participatory Sciences (AAPS), a member-driven organization that connects people from a wide range of experiences around one shared purpose: advancing knowledge through research and monitoring done by, for, and with members of the public. Read about affiliate benefits and how to join.