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The geology program at Clemson University has instituted a new, six-semester- long undergraduate research course sequence that requires student participation in ongoing departmental research projects from their sophomore through senior years. As a part of a university-wide initiative focusing on undergraduate research, termed Creative Inquiry at Clemson University, the experience provides students with the opportunity to address real research problems in Earth science, gather their own data, and interact with a diverse group of students through interdisciplinary group projects that culminate in group presentations and the publication of research results. Students may choose from a variety of research project options, most of which involve environmental monitoring of selected parcels of an extensive tract of university-owned forest land near campus. Assessment of the pilot offering of the sophomore research experience indicated that students recognized the effectiveness of these courses in fostering better inquiry, analysis, and presentation skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]