Funding & Eligibility

Stipend Funded Research

Students interested in a research project should contact the faculty member directly. Once you’ve identified a project and agreed to work together, there are several ways to participate:

UROP offers competitive research stipends during the academic year and summer. Students may also participate in research as volunteers, for academic credit, or through other paid funding opportunities.

Funding Eligibility

  • Any undergraduate student enrolled full-time at Boston University is eligible to apply for UROP funding.
  • All projects must be conducted under the supervision of a BU faculty member.
  • A student may not simultaneously receive academic credit and a UROP stipend award for their research.
  • Students on a leave of absence are not eligible to apply for funding.
  • Students graduating in May are not eligible for funding the summer after graduation.
  • International students must be working in the US to receive stipend funding.
  • A maximum of up to two students may be funded per faculty mentor per semester. 
  • Students who have previously received UROP funding are welcome to apply, but students cannot receive funding more than twice. Students who have received funding 2 times cannot reapply.

Types of Funding

Stipend Awards are paid directly to the student through SEO as taxable income.

Student Research Award (SRA): full amount provided by UROP
Fall or Spring Semester: Up to $750 for 5 hours per week
Summer: $7,000 for 40 hours per week for a 10-week program.

Faculty Matching Grants (FMG): half provided by UROP, half by the faculty mentor
Fall or Spring Semester: Up to $1,500 for 10 hours per week
Summer: $7,000 for 40 hours per week for a 10-week program.

Students may apply for different stipend amounts based on the approximate number of hours to be worked per week*:

Fall or Spring Semester:

  • 5 hours = $750
  • 8 hours = $1,200 (with FMG only)
  • 10 hours = $1,500 (with FMG only)

Summer (beginning 2026):

  • 20 hours = $3,500
  • 30 hours = $5,250
  • 40 hours = $7,000

*While the award is for the semester or summer, it is paid in weekly installments over a 10 week period (payments may be made over a shorter period in the fall semester). 

Notes on Stipend Working Hours Stipulations

  • UROP stipend payments are paid as weekly salaried payments through Student Employment.
  •  Students are not eligible to work more than 20 hours/week during the academic year and 40 hours/week during the summer across on-campus jobs.
  • Students cannot receive double payment for working the same job. For example, if you work 10 hours/week during the academic year for a UROP stipend, you cannot be paid with work-study or departmental funds for the same 10 hours. However, if you work 10 hours/week during the academic year for a UROP stipend and an additional 10 hours on another job or on the same research project, you may be eligible to receive payment from work-study funding or departmental for the additional hours worked under the hourly guidelines listed above.
  • All non-UROP funding sources used to support your research project need to be discussed with your mentor.
  • Any summer-funded UROP students working another job on campus must report this in their award acceptance paperwork.
  • If you are working as a Resident Assistant, you are not eligible for UROP funding.
  • If you have questions about receiving UROP funding while working another job on campus, please contact the office to discuss this further.