About UROP

About UROP
The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) in the Division of Undergraduate Education encourages and facilitates research and creative activities by undergraduates from all schools and academic disciplines at UCI. Research opportunities are available not only from every discipline, interdisciplinary program, and school, but also from many outside agencies, including national laboratories, industrial partners, and other universities. UROP offers assistance to students and faculty through all phases of the research process, whether it is with proposal writing, developing research plans through project management skills, awarding grants to fund research projects, scholarly journal writing through The UCI Undergraduate Research Journal, or presenting results of the research or creative project through the UCI Undergraduate Research Symposium. This experience provides students with the necessary skills to succeed in their future careers. Conducting research and creative activities should be an integral component of the education undergraduates receive at UCI, regardless of their career choice.
Mission and Vision
Our mission is to provide professional environments conducive to research advancement and career skills development. We want to foster collaborations between students, faculty, corporate entities, and leaders in government, industry, and the community to prepare the undergraduate researcher for the challenges of tomorrow. Our vision is to build the foundations of our research community and develop an undergraduate research culture at UCI. We see a future of endless possibilities for all students at UCI. Our commitment to extending research and creative opportunities is rooted in the desire to invest in the potential of our students. Our goal is to facilitate the realization of this potential.
History & Accomplishments
Launched in 1995, UROP has grown sharply in recent years and has received wide support from the faculty, including the active involvement of the UROP Faculty Advisory Board. UROP announced its first Call for Proposals in the Spring of 1996, has managed the UCI Undergraduate Research Symposium since 1997, started publishing The UCI Undergraduate Research Journal in 1998, and began the Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) in 2001. The number of student projects funded by UROP has increased to nearly 250 per year, involving almost 400 students; more than 100 students have participated in SURP annually. Additionally, The UCI Undergraduate Research Journal now receives more than 70 submissions annually, and the UCI Undergraduate Research Symposium includes approximately 400 presentations of undergraduate work and involves nearly 500 students.
Our Future
Our development reflects the contributions of our participants and strategic partners. Undergraduate researchers, faculty mentors, leaders in government, industry and the community look to UROP to establish a network of cooperation that extends beyond the realm of academia. UROP provides an opportunity for all our participants to interact in this network to further individual goals and the development of the entire cooperative. UROP protects the integrity of this network by adhering to principles of trust, communication, cooperation, and high morals and ethics.

UROP Programs

	UROP assists undergraduates in ANY discipline to find research and creative on-campus opportunities with faculty or off-campus opportunities with industrial partners, national labs, and other universities.
	UROP provides grants in support of UCI faculty-mentored undergraduate research or creative projects. The two separate Calls for Proposals for these grants are announced in the Fall and Spring Quarters of each school year.
	UROP sponsors The UCI Undergraduate Research Symposium, an annual event held in May that allows hundreds of undergraduates the opportunity to present their research findings or creative activities in a professional setting. The Call for Abstracts for the Symposium is announced to all faculty and undergraduates in the Winter Quarter of every year.
	The UCI Undergraduate Research Journal, produced by UROP, is a compilation of outstanding papers by UCI undergraduate students who have completed faculty-mentored research projects or creative activities. The Call for Papers for the Journal is announced to all faculty and undergraduates early in Spring Quarter of every year.
	The Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) provides grants for UCI undergraduates who are conducting summer research projects or creative activities under the guidance of UCI faculty members and have completed at least one quarter of research experience. The Call for Proposals for this grant is issued in the Winter Quarter of each academic year.
	The Chemistry Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (Chem-SURF) provides a unique 10-week summer research opportunity for undergraduates to become fully immersed in a wide range of exciting, cutting-edge specialized and interdisciplinary research projects. The application deadline for this Program is late in the Winter Quarter of each year.
	The Inter-Disciplinary Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (ID-SURE) provides funding for UCI undergraduates from all disciplines who are conducting interdisciplinary summer research projects or creative activities related to health promotion and disease prevention under the guidance of UCI faculty members. The Call for Proposals for this grant is issued prior to Winter Quarter of each academic year.
	The Integrated Micro/Nano Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (IM-SURE) at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), provides a unique 10-week summer research opportunity for undergraduates to become fully immersed in cutting-edge micro/nano research and applications. The application deadline for this Program is late in the Winter Quarter of each academic year.
	The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Information Technology (SURF-IT) through Calit2 at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), provides a unique 10-week summer research opportunity for UCI undergraduates to become immersed in IT-related research and applications.

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