About Student Research

It would be best to look through your desired department’s website. Typically department websites have a list of opportunities/ funding available for students related to the specific major.

We’ve reached out to the leadership team of the University of Rochester Journal of Undergraduate Research to help answer this:

“Personally speaking I learned bioinformatics in order to analyze previously published genomic data sets. As a lot of STEM research is lab-based, I would expect the majority of STEM research done remotely to be mainly data analytics/ bioinformatics related.” John Lozada

“I had a similar experience to John’s, as I worked remotely in a STEM lab this summer. Although many opportunities will definitely be less hands on, whether in a wet lab or human subject lab, there are still great opportunities to become more proficient in data analysis and scientific writing, which are essential research skills.” Shelby Sabourin

We recommend including a short introduction on yourself (year, major, past research introduction) with a sentence or two detailing what specifics of their research you are interested in. It would be also helpful to include your resume/CV for professors to get a glimpse of your previous experience. It would be ideal to keep emails short and simple as professors are typically very busy. See the sample emails page for examples.

The Discover Grant opens up around March. You will need a letter of support from your supervisor/ mentor in order to apply.

To be very honest, it is quite rare to see a student be able to pursue their own research idea. The best way would be to discuss your idea with a professor whose research interests align the best. It admittedly is rare for a professor to be willing to mentor and fund a student’s own original research idea due to funding constraints. However, it doesn’t hurt to ask as professors typically are more than happy to discuss research, especially when it is related to their interests.

Yes, of course! You will want to emphasize why you are interested in their research, given that your major is unrelated (professors typically like to see why someone may be interested in their research).

It depends on the department. Many of the biology/medical related positions on Joblink start out as research technicians (basic lab maintenance, unrelated to research) so if you are really interested in a specific professor’s research, you should email them directly.

Professors who do not have their own research websites usually have their research interests listed at the faculty directory or some sort of page with their specific research projects. If they do not have any research interests/ projects listed, they may not be active in research.

You can also look at their most recent list of publications—there you may get a good sense of the research questions they are asking, as well as the methods they are using. PubMed is a great source to look for professors’ publications if you have a hard time finding their interests on Rochester’s website.

Yes! Of course! Many professors at the medical center, as well as some at Eastman are interested in taking in University of Rochester undergraduates. Just reach out!

Admittedly, it might be best to get comfortable with your course load first during your first year. However, for those of you who want to get a head start and believe you can manage just fine, you should be well aware of your mental and physical capacity/state. The most important thing is to not burn out!

If you do think you are not in a good state, you may want to step back a bit from your current commitments and re-prioritize! It is more important to take care of yourself as burning out early on will delay you more in the future!

As for managing time, it is important to have a talk with your professor about the time expectations for you—be honest with how many hours you can actually commit.

There are many opportunities out there for international students! Typically professors/ principal investigators pay students from their own grants, so restrictions for international students are typically only found in specific summer research/ fellowship programs.

The Office of Undergraduate Research will be hosting orientation sessions at the end of the month, so just be on the lookout! For students who are unaware of RIG, please note that it is only an award given at enrollment.

For STEM research specifically, research is a dynamic process. That means, the hours typically vary a lot based on what you plan for. It could be as little as five hours a week at a time vs 20 hours a week. For four credit independent research courses, however, the minimum currently during COVID times is ten hours of contact time per week.

So the great thing about undergraduate research is that it is very much a time for learning. When you start in the lab, the professor/principal investigator should have a good sense of what your technical knowledge/skills are at that point. Thus, for those of you who do not have a lot of experience, no need to worry. As long as you are motivated and dedicated enough to get through that initial learning curve, you should be fine.

If a professor says they do not have space currently, we recommend waiting at least a semester to email them again for an opportunity. Professors typically budget based on how much spaced they have at that given time, and that doesn’t really change that much throughout that specific semester. However, there typically are a good amount of professors working on a similar topic at the same time so if one professor doesn’t have space, then try looking for one with similar research experience. Getting more experience earlier may help you a lot in the future!

There are a lot of research opportunities available during the summer! You can start by determining what research topic you are interested in and doing a simple Google search from there. Many established research institutions have their own summer program.

Many professional societies also provide funding for research done at the labs of their own members. Furthermore, professors typically have the funding to take on one (or more) undergraduates during the summer (in this case, there are no restrictions for international students)! Thus, just reach out to professors, whether they are at the University of Rochester or not, for opportunities! When reaching out about summer research opportunities, remember that it is always best to do so early because exclusive positions/labs/programs can fill up quick, so aim to reach out around November or December.

You can submit the Research Interest Profile to get updates on openings.

You can look to the Gwen Greene Career Center for help. Just schedule an appointment with one of their advisors! You can make appointments through Handshake (accessed through Blackboard).

JUR has opportunities for students as content or layout editors.

Content editors review accepted articles for clarity and syntax. You can submit an application to become a content editor.

Layout editors are responsible for designing and putting together the final journal. No application is necessary. If you are interested, email oion.akif@rochester.edu.

See the JUR CCC page for more information, as well as the JUR website. If you have any other questions feel free to reach out to the editors-in-chief at jurrochester@gmail.com.