STEM2Cypress

Research Opportunities

Why Do Research?

Conducting research as an undergraduate is an excellent way to gain experiences and skills that will benefit you both academically and professionally. In addition to exploring your areas of interest in-depth, undergraduate research develops skills in collaborative learning and critical thinking. For students interested in pursuing grad school, undergraduate research is a way of expanding your education outside of the classroom and better preparing yourself for the rigors of graduate study. Even if you are unsure about graduate studies, conducting undergraduate research is a way of exploring your research interests and testing the suitability of a research career to your interests.

How to Prepare for Undergraduate Research

Taking on research in addition to your regular course load requires excellent time management skills. We recommend that freshman students wait a year before applying to a summer research experience and for applicants to have at least a year of science and one year of college level mathematics completed.
Please Note: The application process for each campus offering an opportunity for conducting research will vary.

Some questions to ask yourself as you plan your research are:

• How much time can I commit to conducting research?
• Will I need financial support to conduct research throughout the summer and academic year?
• What kind of research work interests me?
• What do I want to gain from my research experience?
• How can I best prepare myself academically and professionally to do research?
• What safety courses will I need to take to do research in my field or lab?

The better you plan your academic coursework, the better you will be able to organize your time for research. Whatever your future professional and academic plans, gaining experience in undergraduate research will enhance your application and your preparedness for more self-directed research.

Applicants should note that most application deadlines fall between February – March every year. 

Down below are a myriad of websites that offer additional resources and undergraduate research opportunities.

This is your time to take advantage of the multitude of opportunities you have through applying for various research and internship opportunities!

• RECOMMENDATION LETTER REQUEST FORM 2017– This handout is intended to assist students on how to ask faculty and/or staff letters of recommendation.
• *National Science Foundation – Research Experience for Undergraduates(REU)*
• Cal Poly Pomona REU UAV Technology – Due January 31st, 2019
• NSF NEON Summer Research Program– Due Early February 2019
• Cal Poly Pomona REU Big Data Security– Due February 2nd, 2019
• University of Hawai’i, Manoa REU– Open Late November- Due February 1st, 2019
• Cal State Fullerton URE 2019– Due February 28th, 2019
• CBBG Summer Research Experience– Due March 15th, 2019
• CSULB Summer Bridge Program– Due March 31st, 2019
• Summer Biomedical Research– Open from November 15th-March 1st, 2019
• USIBR at UC Irvine– Due Spring
• UC San Diego STARS Program– Due January 30, 2019
• Transfer to Excellence Research Program at UC Berkeley- Due February 1st, 2019
• CAMPARE Summer Research Program-Due Spring
• Cal Tech Physics Summer Research Experience– LIGO SURF Program- Open November 1st, 2018-February 1st, 2019
• SURF Program at Scripps Research Institution– Due Spring
• Cal State Fullerton Undergraduate Research Experience 2018– Due Spring
• CSULB BUILD Scholars Program(Fall 2019 Transfers)- March 1st, 2019
• CSULB Research Preparation Programs 
• Yale CRISP Research Experience– Materials Science and Engineering Center- Check November 2018 for deadline
• CURE REU Energy Program– Due Spring
• Summer Research Opportunities- Deadlines Vary
• Take a look at CSU Fullerton Natural Science and Math Department Research Resources 
• Pathways to Science
• University of Washington Undergraduate Summer Research
• Physics Society for Student (Research)
• The Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)
• American Mathematical Society
• The Nucleus
• UCI’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program
• CCCP SCHOLARS PROGRAM at UCLA
• Volunteer at St. Jude Medical Center
• NASA Student Opportunities 
• Alabama State University: REU in Nanobioengineering – Due Jan 31
• Auburn University: NSF REU Site in Computational Biology – Due Jan 31
• Auburn University: REU in Aquatic Ecology – Due Feb 1
• University of Alabama Summer Program in Neuroscience (SPIN) – Due Feb 1
• Northern Arizona University: REU in Environmental Science – Due March 1
• University of Arkansas EcoREU – Due Jan 15
• California Academy of Sciences’ Summer Systematics Institute (SSI) – Due Feb 15
• Pepperdine University Seaver College Undergraduate Research in Biology – Due Feb 13
• Biological Research in Ecological and Evolutionary Developmental Biology (BREED) – Due Feb 18
• California Campus REU Program: Structure & Function Summer Institute (SFSI) – Due Feb 15
• UC Berkeley REU: Integrating Biology from Molecules to Ecosystems – Due Feb 3
• UC Riverside REU Program in Plant Biology – Due Feb 22
• Summer Research Program at UCSF – Due Feb 1
• Colorado State University:  REU in Molecular Biosciences
• Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory REU – Due Feb 15
• University of Connecticut – Mystic Aquarium REU – Due March 15
• UConn Physiology & Neurobiology REU – Due March 1
• Yale University: Research Training in Biology, Physics, & Engineering – Due Feb 3
• Natural History Research Experiences (NHRE) – Due Jan 23
• Florida Agricultural & Mechanics University: REU in Genomics, Proteomics & Bioinformatics – Due March 21
• University of Georgia: REU in Computational Biology – Due March 2
• Georgia Southern University: REU in Coastal Plain Science – Due Feb 22
• University of Georgia: REU in Microbiology – Due Feb 1
• University of Georgia: REU in Population Biology – Due Feb 18
• REU in Environmental Biology for Pacific Islanders – Due Feb 15
• University of Hawaii at Manoa: REU in Biodiversity
• Pacific Internship Programs for Exploring Science (PIPES) – Due Feb 8
• University of Idaho’s REU in Molecular and Organismal Evolution – Due Feb 15
• Chicago Botanic Garden Research Experience – Due Jan 31
• Field Museum’s NSF REU – Due Feb 28
• Synthetic Biology Research Experience for Undergraduates (SynBREU) – Due Jan 25
• PRECS: Phenotypic Plasticity Research Experience for Community College Students – Due March 15
• University of Chicago REU in Cell Biology – Due Feb 4
• Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior REU – Due Feb 15
• Purdue University: REU in Molecular Biology – Due Feb 8
• University of Notre Dame: REU in Molecular Biology – Due Feb 1
• University of Iowa: REU in Evolutionary Science – Due by March 15
• University of Iowa: REU in Microbiology – Due Feb 15
• Eastern Kentucky University: REU in Ecology – Due Feb 15
• University of Kentucky: Biochemistry Summer Program – Due Feb 15
• Louisiana State University: REU in Genetics – Due March 31
• Johns Hopkins University: Rosetta Commons Research Experience for Undergraduates – Due Feb 1
• Johns Hopkins University BioREU – Due Feb 3
• Johns Hopkins University: Bioengineering REU – Due Feb 1
• Smithsonian Environmental Research Center’s (SERC) Internship Program
• University of Maryland: Marine Science REU – Due Feb 28
• Boston College STEM REU – Due Jan 1
• Boston University: Bioinformatics REU – Due Feb 15
• Boston University: SURF Program – Due Feb 20
• Brandeis University: Life Sciences REU – Due Feb 1
• Summer Research Opportunities at Harvard (SROH) – Due Feb 1
• Harvard Forest Summer Research Program in Ecology – Due Feb 1
• University of Chicago: Marine Biology SRE – Feb 1 (Priority Deadline), March 10 (Final Deadline)
• Northeastern University: Biology REU – Due Feb 1
• Tufts University: REU in Engineering – Due March 4
• Tufts University: REU in Biology – Due March 15
• UMass Boston: REU in Evolutionary Biology – Due Feb 1
• Kettering University REU – Due Feb 15
• Michigan State University W.K. Kellogg Biological Station (KBS REU) – Due March 1
• Plant Genomics at MSU REU Program – Due Feb 11
• REU: Climate Change in the Great Lakes Region – Due Feb 15
• University of Michigan Interdisciplinary REU Program in the Structure and Function of Proteins – Due Feb 15
• Mississippi State University: REU in Computational Biology – Due March 1
• Donald Danforth Plant Science Center Research Internship – Due Feb 3
• Missouri Botanical Garden REU – Due Feb 28
• University of Missouri NeuroREU – Due March 1
• University of Nebraska-Lincoln Summer Research – Due March 1
• University of Nevada, Las Vegas: REU in Evolution – Due March 3
• Princeton University: Summer Research in Molecular Biophysics – Due Jan 31
• Princeton Neuroscience Institute Summer Internship – Due Feb 1
• Rutgers University: Computational Biology REU
• University of New Mexico – Sevilla Field Station REU – Due Feb 15
• American Museum of National History Undergraduate Fellowship – Due Feb 15
• Boyce Thompson Institute Research Internships – Due Feb 1
• City College of New York Summer Research in Biochemistry – Due March 15
• Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Undergraduate Research – Due Jan 15
• Cornell University: Molecular Biology & Genetics (MBG-REU) – Due Jan 31
• Brooklyn Urban Ecology and Environment (BUEE) Program – Due April 1
• Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies NSF Program
• New York University Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) – Feb 15 (Priority Deadline), March 15 (Final Deadline)
• Wadsworth Center REU Program – Due Feb 21
• North Carolina State University Biotechnology Program
• UNC Greensboro Math-Biology REU – Due Feb 8
• University of North Dakota REU – Due March 15
• Miami University: REU in Ecology – Due Jan 31
• Ohio State University: REU in Molecular Genetics – Due Feb 15
• University of Central Oklahoma: REU in Math & Science – Due March 18
• University of Oregon: REU in Molecular Biosciences 
• Exploration of Marine Biology on the Oregon Coast – Due Feb 15
• TECBio REU @ Pitt – Due Feb 11
• University of Puerto Rico: REU in Tropical Ecology – Due Feb 28
• Clemson University: Biophysics Summer REU – Due Feb 15
• Fort Johnson Summer Undergraduate Research Program – Due Feb 15
• University of Georgia: Savannah River Ecology Laboratory – Due Feb 28
• University of South Dakota: Sustainable RIVER Project – Due Feb 28
• University of Tennessee: REU in Microbiology – Due March 1
• Rice University REU in BioNetworks – Due Feb 4
• Texas A & M University: SRE in Biochemistry – Due Feb 1
• Blandy Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program – Due March 1
• University of Virginia: Mountain Lake Biological Station REU – Due Feb 20
• Genome Sciences Summer Research – Due Feb 1
• Center for Neurotechnology REU – Due Jan 15
• Marquette University Undergraduate Summer Research Program – Due Feb 1
• University of Wisconsin-Madison SRE – Due Feb 15