There are many benefits to participating in undergraduate research during your undergraduate career. Whether you are interested in a research-oriented career or not, graduate school or not, doing research can provide you will many useful skills and knowledge. Research experiences are valuable for everyone!
Conducting research allows you to
There any many benefits to participating in a URH research program. The benefits listed below may not be not available for all programs (e.g. FMP provides 199 credit, but not a stipend), but are available across URH offerings.
However, no, you don't have to do research through an Undergraduate Research Hub program. There are many other research opportunities across the UC San Diego campus:
Undergraduate Research Hub programs
If you have a project that would require being abroad, our programs allow for this on a case-by-case basis and with agreement from the program coordinator and research mentor. If you do go abroad as part of your research project, you must still meet other requirements of the program.
Other opportunities at UC San Diego
Opportunities beyond UC San Diego
There are also opportunities through other institutions such as the Research in Industrial Projects for Students (RIPS) – Singapore through UCLA.
Yes, there are many research opportunities across the country:
In addition to doing a program in another location, it may also be possible to conduct your UC San Diego research elsewhere (e.g. conducting interviews in Tijuana or fieldwork in San Francisco).
Yes! Research can happen not only in labs, but also in libraries, performance stages, art studios, community centers, or anywhere else in the world where you pursue your intellectual curiosity. We encourage students working in the arts, humanities, and/or social sciences to conduct research, apply for our various programs, and to attend our Conference for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH) events.
Yes! There are several URH programs that are open to first-year undergraduate students, including the Triton Research & Experiential Learning Scholars (TRELS) program during the academic year and the summer and the Undergraduate Research Scholarships (URS) program during the summer. You can learn more about the specific requirements from our URH Programs Table. Be sure to double check the requirements for each specific opportunity when applying.
Additional opportunities for first-year students may also be available outside of URH through volunteering, an independent study course, the real portal, or another on-campus program.
Yes! Generally, URH programs are open to all students regardless of transfer status. We also offer the STARTneuro program, which is specifically geared toward incoming transfer students with an interest in neuroscience, and the EMPOWER Scholars program that is for community college transfer engineering students. You can learn more about the specific requirements from our URH Programs Table here. Be sure to double check the requirements for each specific opportunity when applying.
Additional opportunities for transfer students may also be available outside of URH through volunteering, an independent study course, the real portal, or another on-campus program.
Yes! All URH programs are open to juniors and seniors, and it is never too late to do research! If fact, some faculty prefer to work with students who have taken introductory courses.
Additional opportunities for juniors/senior students may also be available outside of URH through volunteering, an independent study course, the real portal, or another on-campus program.
Yes! All students are important members of our research community. There are several URH programs that are open to students regardless of citizenship status, including the Triton Research & Experiential Learning Scholars (TRELS) program, the Faculty Mentor Program (FMP), and UC Scholars. You can learn more about the specific requirements from our URH Programs Table here. Be sure to double check the requirements for each specific opportunity when applying.
Additional opportunities for non citizen/permanent resident students may also be available outside of URH through volunteering, an independent study course, the real portal, or another on-campus program.
The Undergraduate Research Hub does not support research opportunities for high school students. However, you can check with COSMOS, ENLACE, HS STAR, OPTIMUS, MRSEC RIMSE, REHS. They may have opportunities for high school students during the summer.
Additionally, you can individually ask faculty if they support high school students through their project/lab. Some faculty will take high school students on a case-by-case basis.
The STARS program is a summer research program that accepts community college students. ENLACE is a summer program that may accept community college students as well.
Additionally, the STARTneuro program accepts transfer students to start research the summer before they start at UC San Diego.
Additional opportunities for current community college students may also be available. Check the All UC San Diego Research Program Database for the most up-to-date information.
The STARS and ENLACE are summer research programs that accepts applications from non-UC San Diego students.
Also, many REUs (Research Experience for Undergraduates) are hosted on-campus for non-UC San Diego students in STEM. Best place to find them would be on https://pathwaystoscience.org. There is an advanced search if you prefer to list specific institution(s).
Additional opportunities for non-UCSD students may also be available. Check the All UC San Diego Research Program Database for the most up-to-date information.
There are a number of ways recent graduates can pursue research opportunities at UC San Diego.
Across the country, there are also many post-bac and PREP (Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program). Here are a few examples, but there are many more that can be found by searching "PREP Program" or "Postbaccalaureate Program" + Interest/Major.
Yes, absolutely. Research is a way to continue expanding your intellectual horizons, whether within and/or beyond your major. Research can also empower you to forge creative interdisciplinary connections between areas of study that might initially seem unrelated.
Research is a wonderful way to build your skills and gain exposure to new possibilities, especially if you are unsure about what you might like to pursue in the future. While some students might know that they want to pursue graduate study or a specific career pathway, many students are still discovering their own passions and goals. The Undergraduate Research Hub is here to serve all Tritons who are seeking research opportunities, regardless of future plans.
Yes. We encourage you to simultaneously apply for as many research programs as you like, as long as you meet the eligibility requirements. Generally, however, URH only allows for students to participate in one program at a time. This means that if you were to have multiple offers for concurrent research programs—for example, multiple offers for summer research funding—you will likely have to accept one offer and decline the others.
Also, you will need to honor the offer you accept. It is unprofessional and often not possible to later withdraw from a program to accept another offer.
Yes. While we generally only allow for students to participate in one program at a time, you can participate in many of our programs throughout your academic career at UC San Diego. We encourage it! For example, you can participate in TRELS during the academic year and then participate in one of our summer research programs during the summer. This is one example. There are many options for mixing and matching our programs throughout your time at UC San Diego.
This depends upon the specific program to which you are applying. Some programs require you to identify a mentor on your application, while other programs do not. Be sure to double check the requirements for each specific opportunity when applying. Feel free to reach out the program coordinator(s) if you have any questions.
In general, students participating in URH programs are expected to have a UC San Diego faculty member as their mentor. This usually means someone with the word “Professor” in their title: “Teaching Professor,” “Assistant Professor,” “Associate Professor,” or “Professor.” In some cases, graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, research scientists, or visiting lecturers may serve as your primary points of contact while pursuing your project, but you should still have an official faculty mentor of record.
There are a variety of tools and strategies that you can employ to identify a faculty mentor.
Consider reaching out to professors who have taught you in courses connected to your areas of interest. Talk to teaching assistants (TAs), instructional assistants (IAs), research assistants (RAs), or other people on campus who have shaped your intellectual life, and who might have contact with faculty members who serve as the principal investigator (PI) for a research group. Search the course catalog and departmental websites for faculty members who teach courses that you hope to soon take. Utilize the Research Experience & Applied Learning (REAL) Portal and/or the UCSD Profiles database to search for faculty members working in fields related to your interests. If you are interested in pursuing research, but are having difficulty identifying a potential mentor, please reach out to the URH staff, and we will be happy to assist you in your search.
Once you have identified a possible mentor, reach out via email to formally introduce yourself, explain your research interests in relationship to their work, and request whether they would be willing to meet with you virtually or in-person to further discuss the possibility of serving as a mentor. While faculty members are busy—and sometimes may seem intimidating to approach—most often they are truly excited to meet enthusiastic young scholars who share their intellectual interests.
Some programs require a letter of recommendation, while others only ask for a potential mentor to complete a very brief statement of support form to endorse your application. Be sure to double check the requirements for each specific opportunity when applying. Feel free to reach out the program coordinator(s) if you have any questions.
While each program will have slightly different application requirements, overall a strong application will explain why you are a good fit for a particular program. Ask yourself, “How are my goals aligned with the goals of this program?” This helps to shift the focus away from conventional metrics of academic achievement (such as your transcript and GPA), and toward the unique scholarly passions and contributions that you can develop by participating in a specific program.
In addition to seeking feedback from mentors, consider visiting the Writing Hub at the Teaching + Learning Commons for feedback as you draft your applications.
Phone: (858) 534-1774CONNECT WITH THE UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH HUB: