Faculty-mentored research and creative activities have become an integral component of the education an undergraduate expects to receive at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). The uniqueness of this UCI experience comes from the one-on-one interaction with world-renowned faculty, applying research methods into real-world applications, and the development of skills and knowledge gained that will lead to successful careers. With its eight undergraduate degree-granting schools (Arts, Biological Sciences, Computer Science, Engineering, Humanities, Physical Sciences, Social Ecology, Social Sciences), UCI has launched and nurtured many department-based and school-based programs in support of undergraduate research. Some of these programs receive external funding from corporate sponsors and federal agencies (i.e., National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, or the U.S. Department of Education). Others are funded locally. In addition, many undergraduates have conducted research under the guidance of faculty members from the School of Medicine, and a few have worked with faculty members from the Graduate School of Management. This growing commitment of UCI faculty and administration and support of undergraduate research opportunities has led to the development of a number of centralized undergraduate research programs including: the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) in 1995, and the Summer Undergraduate Research Program (administered by UROP) in 2001.

We believe it is important for undergraduates to gain exposure to the research process regardless of their future career choices. Over the last few years, close to 50% all students graduating from UCI have participated in independent or group research projects. This engagement can take on different levels of intensity: from learning research methods specific to their discipline, to managing their own projects, to concluding with a presentable or publishable finding. The most common types of projects are individual, followed by laboratory projects; some are driven by a senior thesis or term paper. As you move around the UCI campus in a clockwise direction, you observe creative projects in the Arts, scholarly work in the Humanities, surveys or psychology experiments in Social Ecology and Social Sciences, design projects in Computer Science and Engineering, and basic science or clinical research in the Physical and Biomedical Sciences. Close to 80% of mentoring is done directly by Faculty Members of the Academic Senate, where 20% of indirect mentoring is done through involvement of graduate students or post-doctoral fellows.

The benefits of undergraduate research go far beyond the knowledge gained from conducting a research or creative project. Students conducting research projects develop skills—critical analysis, problem solving, and communication skills are only a few—that they will use throughout their lives. In a 2002 survey, faculty members were asked to list areas in which students generally improve as a direct result of their participation in the undergraduate research experience. More than 85% of the responses listed the following:

• Drawing conclusions and critically analyzing information

•  Defining and solving problems

• Developing communication skills

• Working independently

• Understanding and applying research methods, ethics and conduct rules

Faculty, as a result, develop a better understanding of the learning styles of students, and the training required for students to succeed in their undergraduate research experience.

Launched in 1995, The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) in the Division of Undergraduate Education encourages and facilitates faculty-mentored research and creative activities by undergraduates from all schools and academic disciplines at UCI. UROP is committed to providing a professional environment conducive to research advancement and career skills development. UROP also collaborates with various schools and research units to develop specialized research opportunities. Through UROP’s various programs, the UROP Team assists students through all phases of the research process, whether it is with proposal writing, developing research plans through project management skills, receiving 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. 

UROP’s demonstrated commitment has grown to support at least 1700 undergraduates (unduplicated) each year through a variety of programs, including:

·         UROP advises close to 1200 students annually on appropriate research opportunities on- and off-campus.  The UROP Team motivates and encourages students to do their “homework” by reading more about their topic of interest, reviewing faculty research profiles (available at www.faculty.uci.edu or under school and departmental Web sites), and identifying their top three to five potential faculty mentors. Students are then exposed to appropriate protocols on how to contact the mentor, how to engage the mentor in a meeting about details of the project (project topic could be proposed by the student), appropriate questions to ask regarding expectations, and what it means to make a commitment considering the student is expected to spend at least 12-15 hours per week working on her/his project. Students receive academic credit for conducting faculty-mentored research or creative projects through the 199-like courses with 1-5 possible graded units per quarter. A few students receive payment as compensation for their efforts, but this option is more common in the summer. A student cannot receive payment and academic credit for the same effort. Students start their projects at different stages in their undergraduate program, but are expected to work on the same project for at least three academic quarters. In addition, UROP maintains a detailed list of close to 450 off-campus research programs at other universities, national research institutes, and corporations.

·         UROP Grants & Fellowships: This program provides funding for continuing UCI undergraduates from all disciplines who are conducting research projects or creative activities under the guidance of UCI faculty members. Students may apply for grants up to $1,000 for individual projects, although higher amounts can be awarded for group projects. Proposals can be submitted during separate Calls for Proposals in the Fall and Spring Quarters of each school year. Grant funds are to be used to cover research-related expenses. Students need to outline the background on their projects, significance and proposed methods and findings, and an itemized budget. The UROP Faculty Advisory Board makes funding recommendations based on the proposal, faculty mentor’s letter of recommendation, student’s transcript, and available funds. Proposals that do not require funding or are already receiving adequate funding from other sources may be submitted for an Honorary Fellowship.  In 2005-2006, UROP awarded more than $180,000 in grants/fellowships to more than 500 undergraduates who were mentored by more than 300 faculty members.  In addition, seven students received honorary fellowships (recognition but without funding) for their outstanding research projects.  The first Call for Proposals was in Spring 1996.

·         Summer Undergraduate Research Program: Launched in 2001, SURP provides funding for continuing UCI undergraduates from all disciplines who are conducting summer research projects or creative activities under the guidance of UCI faculty members. Students work on their research topics full-time for a ten-week period, or the equivalent of 400 hours. Student applicants need to have been involved in at least one quarter of faculty-mentored undergraduate research or creative activity. SURP Fellows receive up to a $3,000 stipend for their time and efforts over the summer. Proposals that do not require funding may be submitted for an Honorary Fellowship.  For Summer 2006, SURP awarded close to $235,000 in grants/fellowships to 115 undergraduates.  In addition, nine honorary fellowships were awarded.

·         Inter-Disciplinary Summer Undergraduate Research Experience: Funded by the National Institutes of Health, ID-SURE was launched in Summer 2005 as a collaboration between UROP and the Health Promotion Center in the School of Social Ecology.  The Program provides funding for continuing 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. Students become fully immersed in their research topic full-time for an eight-week period, or the equivalent of 320 hours. Applicants need to have been involved in at least one quarter of faculty-mentored undergraduate research or creative activity. ID-SURE Fellows participate in a preparatory course during Spring Quarter, and are awarded a $2,400 stipend in support of their time and efforts over the summer. Proposals that do not require funding may be submitted for an Honorary Fellowship.  This was one of five funded programs nationwide by the National Institute on Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disorders.  The program supported 50 UCI undergraduates in Summer 2005, and 30 in Summer 2006.

·         Integrated Micro/Nano Summer Undergraduate Research Experience: Funded by the National Science Foundation as a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site, IM-SURE was launched in Summer 2005 as a collaboration between UROP and the Integrated Nanosystems Research Facility of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering.  The Program provides a unique ten-week summer research opportunity for non-graduating Science and Engineering juniors and seniors to become fully immersed in cutting edge micro/nano research and applications under the guidance of UCI faculty members. Participants have the opportunity to choose from a variety of challenging research projects in biomedical, physical and engineering micro/nano-technology. In addition to a $3,000 stipend, students receive free on-campus housing and travel allowance. This is the only UROP-sponsored program that is open to non-UCI undergraduates.  The program supported 21 undergraduates in Summer 2005, including seven from UCI, and 22 undergraduates in Summer 2006, including seven from UCI.

·         Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Information Technology: Funded by the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2), SURF-IT was launched in Summer 2005 as a collaboration between UROP and Calit2.  The Program provides the opportunity for non-graduating UCI juniors and seniors to become involved in IT-related research under the guidance of UCI faculty. Applicants need to have been involved in at least one quarter of faculty-mentored undergraduate research or creative activity. Participants work on their projects full-time for ten weeks during the summer, earning a $4,000 stipend in support of their time and efforts.  The program supported 14 UCI undergraduates in Summer 2005, and 17 undergraduates in Summer 2006.

·         Symposium: The UCI Undergraduate Research Symposium is an annual event that provides an opportunity for undergraduates from all disciplines to present their research results in a professional setting. UROP, SURP and ID-SURE Fellows are required to present; however, the Symposium is open to all students. The activities include oral and poster presentations, student performances, a keynote speaker, roundtable discussions, and an awards ceremony. Everyone is welcome to attend and participate in this celebrated UCI event, to be held this year on May 19, 2007. The Call for Abstracts is announced during the Spring Quarter.  Symposium 2006 showcased projects that involved more than 550 UCI undergraduates.  UROP started managing the Symposium in 1997.

·         Journal: Launched in 1998, The UCI Undergraduate Research Journal is a compilation of outstanding research papers completed by UCI undergraduate students from all schools and disciplines. The UROP Student Editorial Board handles the regulation, initial review of papers, and production of the Journal. Final research papers are reviewed and selected by the UROP Faculty Advisory Board. Application packets, with detailed guidelines, are available in the Spring Quarter in the UROP Office and on the UROP Web site. The Call for Papers is held each year in June.  In response to the 2005 Call for Papers, 80 manuscripts were submitted, and 15 were published.

To learn more about these programs, we invite you to browse the UROP Web site: www.urop.uci.edu

It is important to know that research conducted by individuals associated with UCI both on- and off-campus must adhere to research conduct and safety rules, and demonstrate the highest ethical standards. Undergraduate students are held to the same standards and expectations we have of faculty and other researchers.