• Overview
• Assessment
• Projects
• Results

Overview

What is research?

Research consists of

• Asking a question that nobody has asked before
• Doing the necessary work to find the answer
• Communicating the knowledge you have acquired to a larger audience

Research in the arts and humanities and social sciences includes archival work in the library or on the Internet, and a wide range of creative and artistic projects—from costume design to playwriting to curating a fine arts exhibit.

See also: About our research university

Research is not a solitary activity—but an act of community.

As a member of the research community, you are building on the knowledge that others have acquired before you and providing a road map for those who come after you. You are adding to a body of work that will never be complete. Research is an ongoing, collaborative process—with no finish line in sight.

As an undergraduate,
why should I do research?

UCSD offers undergrads a huge opportunity: to work side-by-side with cutting-edge researchers who are inventing the future. If you don’t get involved in research, you are missing out on one of the key reasons for being here. People learn by doing—and research is a highly effective way to learn.

Take part in creating new knowledge.

As an undergraduate involved in a research project at UC San Diego you have the opportunity to create new knowledge, which is the primary goal of research. Undergraduate research projects also provide the way to learn the facts of how we know things. Students participating in research join the larger intellectual community and social fabric of explorers and scholars who are contributing to the expansion of the knowledge base itself.

Discover yourself.

Think of undergraduate research as a test bed for your future professional life. In pursuing a lab assignment, creating a music video, or performing library or Internet-based research you may have found your life’s work—and even discovered a career option you didn’t know existed.

But realizing what you don’t want is just as important as realizing what you want. You dream about going to medical school and discovering a cure for cancer. But do you really understand what the daily life of a medical student or a lab researcher looks and feels like?

As an undergrad researcher, you get to “try on” a discipline before committing to years of expensive schooling or a career path you don’t find personally rewarding. Once you’ve fulfilled your obligation to a researcher or successfully completed that independent study course, you can move on to an area of greater interest to you.

Make an impact.

As a student researcher you’re taking part in an effort that is larger than yourself, which can have tremendous and longlasting impact on our environment, daily lives and culture—even on how we view history. The rewards that come with creating and disseminating new knowledge to others are invaluable.

Prepare for a higher degree.

Students who engage in undergraduate research are more likely to go on to graduate school, and on average become productive researchers in graduate school faster, according to the Council on Undergraduate Research. This is particularly true when undergraduate research is encouraged early in a student’s career and where the experience is not limited to honors students.

As an undergraduate researcher, you gain a glimpse of the next step or steps up the academic ladder.

• Overview
• Assessment
• Projects
• Results