The Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) Program is a transformative approach to enhancing higher education by engaging undergraduate and graduate students in ambitious, long-term, large-scale, multidisciplinary project teams that are led by faculty. The program has been rigorously evaluated and refined over more than two decades.
Vertically Integrated Projects at the University of Arizona includes a growing list of current and forthcoming teams. Team pages provide details about project objectives and areas of discovery, as well as knowledge and skills that are developed and engaged among team members. In addition, team advisors are listed for further information.
In VIP teams, undergraduate and graduate students — from various years, disciplines, and backgrounds — work with faculty on long-term, large-scale research and design projects. The VIP program includes both standalone and interconnected projects. The Arizona Institutes for Resilience (AIR) and the Biosphere 2 Honors VIP groups are multi-project enterprises with a VIP team dedicated to each project. In the AIR VIP group, long-term goals could include collaboration across teams to address overarching scientific questions.
Biosphere 2 VIP Teams include:
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Agrivoltaics: Food, Energy, and Water Solutions
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Coral Reef Resilience: Biosphere 2 Science at Scale
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Innovative Data Visualization at Biosphere 2
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Biosphere 2 Rainforest Resilience: Capturing and communicating ecosystem responses to climate change