Undergraduate Research

Research builds relationships.

Do cutting-edge research and get to know a faculty member.

Undergraduate research has been identified as a “high-impact practice” in education. Engaging in research has been widely shown to enrich students’ college experience.

There are a lot of misconceptions about undergraduate research. You don’t have to be heading to graduate school to get involved. You can do research in any field at BU, not just in the STEM fields. And there is funding for undergraduate research at BU. You can do research during the semester, or during the summer.

“I look forward to my meetings with my advisor. He encourages me to take advantage of challenging, yet enriching opportunities that are available to me. He has helped me consider different research areas that would be of interest to me and encouraged me to apply for undergraduate research positions.”

– Bryanna Malbouf, CAS’20

BU’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) is a great place to start looking for opportunities. UROP helps undergraduates connect with faculty mentors and provides funding for student research. Its 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.

But UROP isn’t the only way for undergraduates to get involved in research. Learn more about research opportunities at BU here. Talk with faculty whose work interests you. Look into the many centers, institutes, and labs on campus. You don’t have to be an expert to get involved—you just need to be curious.