Undergraduate Research Portal

Opportunities for Research

The Snake Path

Paths for Exploration

When you look for undergraduate research opportunities at UC San Diego, use the following paths or categories to help narrow your search and define the kind of experience you hope to find. Useful information about undergraduate research possibilities exists in many places: on the UC San Diego Web, in academic departments, with advising staff, and with your faculty, friends and fellow classmates. Be patient yet persistent; the experience will enrich your undergraduate years and your professional future.

Existing Opportunities/Courses

Students can conduct research across undergraduate disciplines and departments at UC San Diego, often independently or in small groups/classes. One way to begin to create a project is to review what’s offered in the undergraduate departments and programs. These courses are most often Special Studies Courses: those numbered 97, 98, 99 and 197, 198, 199. Contact advising staff in your college and the specific departments for more information. Consult the right hand side of this page for a list of departments, programs, schools and divisions that offer undergraduate research opportunities.

International Opportunities/Study Abroad

Travel and study abroad provide fertile ground for various undergraduate research projects. Students can work with a faculty mentor to build a research component into their time studying abroad. For more information, contact advisers in the academic department of your major or proposed course of study, and staff in the study abroad programs listed below.

Volunteer Opportunities

Don’t forget to consider the broad range of Student Involvement Opportunities, which are enormously helpful for defining your research interests and building networks. Participation in student organizations, leadership activities and community outreach programs often leads to more formal research projects. Also see the Experiential Learning site.

Opportunities Off Campus

The Career Services Center coordinates programs that involve undergraduate research opportunities off campus. They include a number of funded opportunities and internship resources.

Funded Opportunities

Paid positions are available to undergraduate students, who can explore listings at the Career Services Center. The Academic Enrichment Program also has funded research opportunities available to qualified undergrads.

Undergraduate Research Conferences

Conferences organized around undergraduate research topics take place on and off campus. Also check (URL to our Events button) regularly for updates.

Getting to Know Professors/Small Seminars

One way to get to know faculty members who might guide you in your research project selection is to attend small undergraduate seminars. Check with staff advisers in the academic departments and programs, and reference the Undergraduate Seminar Programs page.

Honors Programs

Honors programs in the six colleges and selected academic departments often contain a research component: a project, a portfolio presentation, or a longer paper or study, for example. For more information consult the college Web sites and the academic departments listings.

Additional Sites:

The Office of Research Affairs at UC San Diego provides a wide range of support services for university researchers: undergraduate, graduate, post-doc and faculty.

Visit the student portal TritonLink to access additional information about research opportunities available to undergraduate students.

Log on to the Bulletin Board of research opportunities posted by both students and faculty:

Academic Enrichment Programs (AEP) offers a wide range of research-based opportunities and success strategies to assist undergraduates as they pursue their degree. A number of these opportunities are funded.

By Department, Program, Division
or Professional School