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UROP – Undergraduate research opportunities program

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UROP connects BU undergraduate students with funded, faculty-mentored research experiences.

Any undergraduate student enrolled full-time at Boston University is eligible to apply for UROP funding. Visit the site to explore opportunities.

Rafik B. Hariri Building HAR 418 (Temporary office location for Spring/Summer while the Feld Center under renovation) 595 Commonwealth Avenue Boston, MA 02215 617-353-2834 questromcareers@bu.edu

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• Boston University Offices of the Provost and Research
• UROP: Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program
• UROP Symposium

The 25th Annual Boston University Undergraduate Research (UROP) Abstracts

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Congratulations to the Physics Class of 2024!

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Throughout the course of your studies, you will acquire essential analytical, quantitative, and problem-solving skills.

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Leading the Way with Student-Led Research

Engineers, experiment designers, linguists, artists, and moneyball mavens. what do they all have in common they’re undergraduate students conducting leading-edge research at bu..

Many have worked with mentors through the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, while others designed experiments in class, won design competitions, or simply followed their passions. Read about a few of their projects below:

LEELA MUNSIFF (CAS’23) , a linguistics student, spent her last three summers recruiting native Ende speakers from Limol, Papua New Guinea, then translating and interpreting over 70 interviews with Ende tribe members. Her research, conducted with her mentor, Professor Kate Lindsey, led to her presenting her work at New Ways of Analyzing Variation – Asia Pacific 7 (NWAV-AP 7), an international research conference.

Music education student SPENCER HART-THOMPSON (CFA’24) received an Arts Research Award to expand his project, Music Through the Scope of Disability, examining new, more equitable accommodations for students with physical disabilities in music education. The project, which evaluates the burdens of existing accommodations and the benefits of newer proposals, will be complemented by a lecture-meets-music performance organized, written, and performed by Hart-Thompson.

ADANNA THOMAS (CAS’23) , who studies neuroscience, helped design an experiment to understand how the brain’s reading network—interconnected areas of the brain that are active when reading—responds to words that have been spelled incorrectly, scrambled, or made up altogether. Thomas plans to further her research in a lab setting after graduation.

Engineering students MELISSA FERRANTI (ENG’25) , YASH PATEL (ENG’25) , and KARA WALP (ENG’24) , whose concentrations span computer engineering, statistics, machine learning, and nanotechnology, have developed a prototype test that uses silver nanoparticles to detect GHB, a common date-rape drug, in drinks. The paper-based detector was developed in the first annual BTEC x BMES Design-A-Thon, a design competition from the Bioengineering Technology & Entrepreneurship Center and the BU chapter of the Biomedical Engineering Society.

E.J. WONG (CGS’21, CDS’23) , a recent graduate in the inaugural class of the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences, together with CGS Master Lecturer of Natural Sciences & Mathematics Leonard “Andy” Andres, presented research they had conducted to the SABR (Society for American Baseball Research) Convention. Their project, which aimed to accurately predict a team’s success in the playoffs, was well received and earned Wong a Yoseloff Scholarship for his contributions, which supports students interested in the field of baseball analytics.

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Educational Resource Center

Undergraduate research at bu.

• One of only three schools in Boston and Cambridge that is a member of the  Association of American Universities  (AAU) - a prestigious group of top universities in the U.S. and Canada recognized for research and excellence in undergraduate education
• An  impressive number and range of research opportunities for undergraduates, available as early as your first year
• Numerous ways to get involved, including our  Directed Study  for independent research
• With more than $1 million in annual funding, the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program ( UROP ) afford students the opportunity to pursue research in any academic discipline
• Students interested in sustainability research are encouraged to participate in BU’s Campus Climate Lab , which uses the campus as a living laboratory to advance sustainability practices and support the University’s Climate Action Plan
• Students and faculty are working on hundreds of research projects with $579.4 million in sponsored funding

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Research definitely takes place in all disciplines here at Boston University-- whether you want to be doing hard science research in the laboratory over a microscope, or if you want to be researching history, or language, or literature.

Most of my professors, if not all, are still actively in the field learning something new and then that folds into their classes also. They really give you the opportunity as a student to enter the field in a way that you may not at other universities.

The opportunities that are offered through Directed Study, which is also known as independent research, are really plentiful. You can really conduct your own research, and be funded by the university. And also receive academic credit to do any sort of research project that you'd like to do.

You can start doing research as early as you want, even freshman year. There's absolutely opportunities as long as you're willing to go out and get them.

I started my research my sophomore year, but through the undergraduate research opportunities program or UROP, I was really able to continue that into the summer. I applied. I sent in my proposal. And they gave me funding to continue doing what I was really invested in at the moment and still now.

Personally, for me, I do research on the medical campus. I am currently data mining this protein and how it behaves in specific cancers.

Being a part of the American Association of Universities is a very incredible environment to be around. Within Boston and Cambridge there are actually only two other colleges that are part of that group of really prestigious research institutes. So it really is an incredible opportunity to go to a school that has so much foundation in research.

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AHA Supporting Undergraduate Research Experiences (AHA SURE)

Boston University (BU) is committed to accelerating the pathway of individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups into science careers. The Aram V. Chobanian & Edward Avedisian School of Medicine ( Chobanian & Avedisian SOM ) was selected by the American Heart Association ( AHA ) as one of 5 US Medical Schools to participate in a summer research pathway program called   AHA Supporting Undergraduate Research Experiences ( AHA SURE ).

AHA BU faculty members awardees will serve as mentors for this program. The program will occur in the broader context of multilevel mentoring available via the BU STARS program , which is out of BU’s Graduate Medical Sciences. The AHA SURE Program will be in-person in 2024.

A pplications for the 2024 program are now closed.

You cannot save your application once you have started it, so please prepare your answers in advance. A Word version of the application is available here.

Eligibility Requirements

• Candidate may be pursuing a degree in any field but must have expressed an interest in a healthcare-related field.
• Candidate must be a full-time undergraduate, a rising sophomore, junior or senior.
• Candidate must have exemplary academic performance.
• We strongly encourage applications from candidates who identify with groups that have been historically underrepresented in medicine and health sciences as defined by the National Institutes of Health ( NIH ).
• Please note the immigration requirements for the SURE application:  At the time of application, the student must be a United States citizen, or a foreign national holding a student, exchange, or permanent resident visa, including an F-1, H1, H1B, J1, PR, TC or TN visa. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status requires additional AHA approval to apply. Send an email to  [email protected]  with an explanation of the student’s status.
• U.S. citizen
• PR- Permanent resident
• Pending permanent resident (must have filed Form I-485 for permanent resident status and obtained an I-797C Notice of Action that the application has been received by USCIS and case is pending)
• E-3 Visa – specialty occupation worker
• F-1 Visa – student (for predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows only)
• G-4 Visa – family member of an international organization employee
• H1-B Visa – temporary worker in a specialty occupation
• J-1 Visa – exchange visitor (pre- and postdoctoral fellowships only; all other awardees must obtain an H-1B or equivalent by the award activation date)
• O-1 Visa – temporary worker with extraordinary abilities in the sciences
• TN Visa – nonimmigrant NAFTA Professional  (TN) visa allows citizens of Canada and Mexico, as NAFTA professionals, to work in the United States in prearranged business activities for U.S. or foreign employers.
• TC- formerly referred to as the “ Trade Canada ” visa or “TC,” was filed with the predecessor to the USCIS, the Immigration Naturalization Service (INS).
• DACA – Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals

Program Benefits

• $6000 compensation/honorarium
• Travel expenses
• Travel costs to Boston
• Room & Board at Boston University
• Opportunity to travel to an AHA scientific meeting.

Read Program Dates & Application

• Program Dates: Monday, June 3rd to Friday, August 9th 2024
• Deadline : February 1st,  2024

Current & Past Participants

• 2024 AHA SURE Photo Roster

Professional Development Series

Bu aha sure summer 2024.

• 2024 AHA SURE Webinar Schedule

BU AHA SURE Summer 2023

• June 23, 2023 – Networking – with Bryan Medina
• June 29, 2023 – Resilience and Medicine –
• July 13, 2023- Using Social Media to Follow Science and Network – with Debora Kamin Mukaz, PhD, MS
• July 19, 2023 – Turning Research into Policy – with Carl Streed, MD, MPH

Contact Directory

• Assistant Director of Training and Education, BU AHA SURE: Teresa Acosta ,  [email protected]
• Associate Provost for Faculty Development, Boston University Medical Campus Vice Chair, Faculty Development and Diversity, Dept. of Medicine, Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology, Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health:  Emelia J. Benjamin , MD, ScM  [email protected] 

BU AHA SURE Program Flyer

• 2024 BU AHA SURE Program Flyer

BU intends that its facilities, programming, and academic offerings will be accessible, inclusive, and diverse. Your experience in this event is important to us. If you require communication access services for the deaf or hard of hearing or require an accommodation for another reason, please contact Teresa Acosta ( [email protected] ) to discuss your needs. Please see Event Accessibility for details on accommodations.

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program

• Stipends for student researchers (academic year and summer)
• Funds for purchasing research-related supplies
• Student participation in professional conferences
• Travel for research purposes
• Student enrichment activities

#GivingTuesday at BU

On this year’s global day of giving back, we are presenting giving opportunities that have a direct positive impact on BU students having a high quality educational experience. These giving opportunities come in the form of supporting scholarships, internships funds, and other student support based funds.

Thanks To Our Recent Donors!

Fostering and supporting diverse undergraduate participation in faculty-guided scholarly research and creative inquiry.

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Getting started.

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SOURCE Opportunites

Student Research Mentors

Undergraduate student research and creative projects may be produced by students at all levels in classes, labs, recitals, as part of a distinction or thesis program or independently. Participating in undergraduate research helps you apply what you are learning in class, find a mentor, improve your critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and pursue a topic that fascinates you.

SOURCE Fall Deadlines

• Faculty Research Assistant Grant Faculty-led research projects that allow students to develop key research skills within their discipline Application due Sept. 26, 2024 Apply Now
• Bridge Award (Funding for Spring 2025) Short-term, renewable support for students at all levels to pursue mentored research experiences (up to $2,000) Application due Oct. 31, 2024 Apply Now
• Explore Program (Will take place Spring 2025) Hands-on, short term research experiences for first- and second-year students Application due Dec. 5, 2024 (online application available late-Sept.)

Undergraduate Research FAQs

What is research and creative engagement.

Undergraduate research work takes many forms but all follow a similar structure:

• Beginning with a sense of curiosity in the exploration of a topic of interest
• An understanding of the current landscape of a scholarly, professional or creative field of study.
• Designing of a study or project using the methods and tools of a discpline to present evidence that responds to a question or theme.
• All undergraduate research students are supported by a faculty mentor in their field.
• Student research and creative projects may be produced by students at all levels in classes, labs, recitals, as part of a distinction or thesis program, or independently. 

Why should I participate in undergraduate research?

Participating in undergraduate research allows you to:

• Apply your knowledge to real-world problems and issues
• Develop a strong faculty mentor relationship
• Improve your problem-solving and creative thinking skills
• Explore potential career areas
• Develop skills you can use on the job market or in grad school
• Explore a topic you find fascinating and participate in the creation of new knowledge

How does undergraduate research work at Syracuse University?

• Students are guided by a faculty mentor (typically a tenured or tenure-track professor) or research staff member.
• In humanities, communications/journalism, business/management, social sciences, arts: students work as part of a research team or one-on-one with a professor to either assist with an ongoing project or design an independent project.
• In STEM fields: students work as part of a lab team, led by a professor (or Primary Investigator, “PI”): students assist with ongoing projects and may take leadership on part of the lab’s work.
• Students may also work off-campus, with a community organization, another university, or do research as part of the study abroad experience.

What are some examples of undergraduate research?

• Miguel Guzman, ’24   – lab research on bioactive protein-cholesterol-based nanoparticles
• Sophie Clinton, ’24   – conducted social science research while abroad in Santiago, Chile
• Ngai Lan Tam ’23   – created an exhibition with structural design, film and performance
• Fátima Bings Martínez ’24   – worked as a research assistant for a literary journal
• Ruchatneet Printup ’23   – directed a film set in his Native community

How do I find a research topic or area of interest?

Jot down a few notes in response to these prompts:

• Readings or lectures from a class that sparked your interest and made you want to learn more or share with a friend
• Problems or issues that you’d like to contribute to solving or improving
• Gaps in your education
• Skills that you’re interested in developing
• Passions, hobbies, and personal interests
• Goals or outcomes that could build your portfolio and be shared with a future employer or graduate school

Connect with others

• Talk to your professors during their office hours about how they first discovered their research interests
• Get inspired at a student research presentation event on campus: the SOURCE Fall Expo, Spring Showcase, or Summer Symposium, or a school/college event
• Go to lectures and talks on campus and ask questions
• Chat with fellow students doing research (you could start with SOURCE   Student Research Mentors ) about how they found their focus
• If you have a specific post-graduate goal (career, graduate study, etc.), speak with career and academic advisors about the skills you should be building

All positions have now been filled. Thank you for applying!

Thank you everyone for making our program such a success our three-year grant for the ’20-’21, ’21-’22, and ’22-’23 years has now run its course. we will be applying for a renewal but, due to the schedule of grant reviewing, do not anticipate being able to offer our program during the summer of 2024. we hope we will be back for the summer of 2025. please check in with us in late fall of 2024. in the meantime, do check out all the other amazing reu programs supported by the national science foundation: https://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/reu_search.jsp.

Take a look at the effect an REU summer at Boston University can have for you: Scientists: The Next Generation

Laboratory research at the chemistry/biology interface. Training on state‐of‐the‐art instrumentation. Seminars on latest chemical/biology research. Weekly REU workshops and laboratory group in meetings. Opportunity to present work at a University‐wide research symposium.

Synopsis: The NSF-REU Program

The Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program supports active research participation by undergraduate students in any of the areas of research funded by the National Science Foundation, including the broad area of the chemical sciences. REU projects involve students in meaningful ways in ongoing research programs or in research projects specifically designed for the REU program. The REU program features two mechanisms for support of student research: (1) REU Sites  are based on independent proposals to initiate and conduct projects that engage a number of students in research. REU Sites may be based in a single discipline or academic department or may offer interdisciplinary or multi-department research opportunities with a coherent intellectual theme. Proposals with an international dimension are welcome. (2)  REU Supplements  may be included as a component of proposals for new or renewal NSF grants or cooperative agreements or may be requested for ongoing NSF-funded research projects. Both mechanisms of support are available at Boston University.

Undergraduate student participants in either REU Sites or REU Supplements must be U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, or permanent residents of the United States.

Program Dates

Ten weeks beginning Monday, June 5 (Arrive June 3) – Friday, August 11, 2023

Program Guidance

Director – Professor Linda Doerrer: [email protected] Co-Director – Professor John K. Snyder: [email protected]

• $6,000 Stipend
• Free on-campus housing
• Travel reimbursement

Requirements

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or permanent resident
• Current freshman, sophomore, or junior at four-year colleges without graduate programs in chemistry, as well as students currently enrolled at community colleges
• Women and underrepresented minorities are strongly encouraged to apply

Undergraduate Research

Boston university research: undergraduate research opportunities program (urop).

UROP’s mission is to nurture curiosity, to capture imagination, and to cultivate relationships between faculty and students beyond the classroom to shape independent, innovative and collaborative leaders. Students may participate in faculty-mentored research experiences, with faculty mentors serving as guides, coaches and facilitators to assist students in honing critical skills while learning the language of their chosen discipline.

Please visit the following links for information about participating in research through UROP:

• How to Get Started
• On Campus Research Opportunities
• Funding and Eligibility
• Application Process
• Online Application

Experiential Learning with BU Spark!

BU Spark! is a technology incubator and experiential learning lab for computational and data-driven projects. Housed at the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences, Spark! helps students realize their potential by providing access to resources, knowledge, and expert networks to support students’ innovation and applied learning journeys. Spark! engages with external partners from industry to provide opportunities for students to build their technology and innovation skills, while Spark! mentors and Experts in Residence guide students through the process of developing, troubleshooting and designing technical projects.

Spark! has several programming tracks available to students:

• BU Spark!  
• Spark! Fellowships  
• Spark! Xlab  

Please contact [email protected] for more information about these experiential learning opportunities and related application processes.

Directed Study

A Directed Study is a semester-long course in which a student pursues independent research under the guidance of a faculty member. A student may choose to undertake a Directed Study to pursue in depth an area covered more generally in a course or to explore a topic not normally covered in the curriculum. It is the student’s responsibility to identify the topic fully and to acquire enough information to ensure its worthiness for independent research.

Students will work directly with a faculty member to create a Directed Study Proposal and complete an application, which must be approved by the appropriate Department chair. Please connect with an individual faculty member directly to discuss the possibility of completing a Directed Study.

Courses developed by faculty based on their own research

You should speak with a faculty member directly for more information about courses relevant to their area of research they have developed and when these courses will be offered.

As research opportunities with CDS faculty become available, we will provide more information on the CDS Undergraduate Program page . You may also reach out to [email protected] for additional guidance.