Undergraduate Research Opportunities

Why do research as an undergraduate?

·         Find out what interests you – or doesn’t.  This is a perfect time to explore a variety of fields, approaches, working styles, career paths.

·         Shop around for graduate schools.  Network with professors and researchers.

Summer vs. School-year Research

·         Summer research programs are more intensive—you are generally expected to commit full-time to the research program without taking summer classes or working other jobs.  Good summer projects are designed for you to get results quickly; you learn a lot in a short period of time.

·         School-year research is part-time (typically 10 hours per week), with work hours arranged around your class schedule.  Doing research during the school year requires time management, and progress can be frustratingly slow.  However, school year research may allow you to stay long-term on a single project, which may  lead to senior thesis projects, publications, and better integration into a research group.

Going It Alone - Arranging Your Own Research Project with Individual Faculty

·         Think about what interests you, then find out who does it – check out faculty webpages, ask your course instructors and TA’s about research areas in their department.

·         Approaching faculty or researchers - be clear about what you’re asking for! Do you want your own research project or do you want to assist others? Do you want credits? Do you want a senior thesis project? Will you volunteer or do you need to be paid? What time commitment can you make?

Formal Summer Programs - How Do I Identify a Good Research Program?

·         Look for organized research programs which provide programmatic support such as arranged housing, weekly group meetings, social activities with other research interns, etc.

·         Think about your primary motivation for doing research. If a particular research area gets you most excited, then find out where that work is being done.  Professors are an excellent source of information about who does what and where.

·         Interdisciplinary research can be very exciting and challenging, and is an excellent way to learn about a wide variety of career paths that you might take with a given background/degree. 

·         Use the web to go shopping.  If want to go to a specific institution, then go to their website and hunt around the academic department and research center websites. 

How Do I Create a Competitive Application?

 What do application reviewers most want to see?  They want to see a convincing and appropriate motivation for doing research.  They want some evidence that you are capable, reliable and mature.  They want to see that you have done your homework.

·         Statement of Interest Essay:  This is a critical piece, and demands your best effort. Discuss in detail your personal motivations, the WHY you want to do research.  For example, share an experience that excited you about your science.  Do not write a generic essay for 10 different programs.  Choose just 3 or 4 programs and hand-tailor your essay to match the  attributes of each program.

·         Recommendation Letter(s): This is the second most critical piece.  Get letters from professors or instructors who know you personally, preferably someone who is knows the full range of your abilities.  Letter writers should be from the same or related field/area as your research interest. 

Other Things to Keep in Mind:

·         Application Deadlines for formal summer programs are generally February to March – start early!

·         Start and End Dates will be very different for programs at semester-system vs. quarter-system schools.  Contact the program coordinator to discuss the possibility of starting and ending late/early – some places will be very flexible.


WEBSITES for Undergraduate Research in Science and Engineering:

Programs at UCSB:

Cooperative International Science and Engineering Internships (CISEI): International internships!!!

http://www.mrl.ucsb.edu/mrl/outreach/educational/CISEI/CISEI.html/

Research Interns in Science and Engineering (RISE): School-year and Summer internships.

http://www.mrl.ucsb.edu/mrl/outreach/educational/RISE/

National Nanofabrication Infrastructure Network (NNIN): Summer internships for non-UCSB students.

http://www.nnin.org/nnin_reu.html

UC Leads: Two-year program including research internships at two UC campuses.

http://www.graddiv.ucsb.edu/ucleads/

Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA): Funding for undergrad research projects.

http://www.ltsc.ucsb.edu/urca/index

 

One-Stop Shopping:

National Institute of Health (NIH): For biomedical-related research only:

http://www.training.nih.gov/student/internship/internship.asp

National Science Foundation (NSF): “Research Experience for Undergraduates” (REU) programs, for all science, engineering and mathematics fields, including behavioral and social sciences:

http://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/reu_search.cfm

Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education: Lists programs sponsored by a range of government agencies, including EPS, Dept of Energy, Dept of Defense, NOAA, etc.

http://www.orau.gov/orise/edu/uggrad/undergrads.htm

Other Major Agencies and Laboratories:

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA):  Undergraduate Student Research Program, at several institutions:

http://www.vsgc.odu.edu/Menu3_1_3.htm

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA):  NOAA Coastal Services Center:

http://www.csc.noaa.gov/cms/fellows/undgrad_opportunities.html

National Laboratories:

Argonne National Lab:             http://www.dep.anl.gov/p_undergrad/

Brookhaven National Lab:             http://www.bnl.gov/education/programs/suli.asp

Fermi National Accelerator Lab:   http://eddata.fnal.gov/lasso/program_search/undergrad.lasso

Los Alamos National Lab:              http://www.lanl.gov/education/undergrad/internships.shtml

Lawrence Berkeley National Lab:            http://www.lbl.gov/Education/CSEE/student_opps.html

Lawrence Livermore National Lab:             http://www.llnl.gov/llnl/education/college.jsp

Oak Ridge National Lab:             http://www.orau.gov/orise/edu/ornl/undergrad.htm

Pacific Northwest National Lab:                 http://science-ed.pnl.gov/undergrad.stm

Sandia National Lab:             http://www.sandia.gov/SIP/index.html and also                                                                                                 http://education.ca.sandia.gov/internships/index.lhtml

 

This material was prepared by: Liu-Yen Kramer, Education Co-Director, California NanoSystems Institute, and by Dorothy Pak, Education Director, Materials Research Laboratory