Investigating Research Month
October 2026
Join us for a whole month of learning how to start your research and what opportunities and resources are available at URochester. The month offers a menu of research-related information sessions and events that span a variety of topics and disciplines.
Thursday, October 8, 2026 | ||
HOW TO GET STARTED IN RESEARCH | 4:00-5:00pmLocation: Hawkins-Carlson Room, Rush Rhees Library Presented by: Office of Undergraduate Research and River Campus Librarians Research 101: An info session and student panel about finding, securing, and managing research at the URochester. | |
Thursday, October 8, 2026 | ||
MEET YOUR RESEARCH AMBASSADORS
| 5:00-6:00pm Location: Hawkins Carlson Room, Rush Rhees Library Presented by: Office of Undergraduate Research and River Campus Librarians Meet yoUR Research Ambassadors and Subject Librarians: Bring your questions! | |
Friday, October 16, 2026 | ||
RESEARCH FAIR | 1:30-3:30pmLocation: Feldman Ballroom, Douglass Commons Presented by: Office of Undergraduate Research Representatives from various departments will be at the Research Fair and ready to talk with students about research opportunities.
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Tuesday, October 20, 2026 | ||
SUMMER RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES
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Tuesday, October 20, 2026 | ||
DAAD RISE INFO SESSION
| 5:00-6:00pm Location: Dewey 2-162 Presented by: Student Fellowships Office Paid 6 week-3 month summer research internshipsin Germany; placements provided by top German university research groups. Knowledge of German is not required. | |
Tuesday, October 27, 2026 | ||
CONNECT with a HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL
| 6:00-7:30pmLocation: Feldman Ballroom Presented by: Gwen M Greene Career Center Network with healthcare professionals and learn about different career paths in a variety of fields. | |
Friday, October 30, 2026 | ||
SCHWARTZ DISCOVER SCHOLAR SHOWCASE
| 1:30-3:30pmLocation: Feldman Ballroom Presented by: Office of Undergraduate Research Schwartz Discover Scholar Showcase: poster fair of the summer research done by URochester Schwartz Discover Scholars. | |
Tuesday, November 3, 2026 | ||
Research 101 with Residence Life | 6:00-8:00pmLocation: Susan B. Anthony Residence Hall, Friel LoungeCo-presented by the Office of Undergraduate Research and the First Year Fellows An info session and student panel about finding, securing, and managing research at the URochester. Immediately following the 30-minute info session, stick around to mingle with researchers and ask questions during one-on-one conversations. | |
Research Fair Department Attendees
This list will be periodically updated with more departments as they confirm their attendance.
| DEPARTMENT OR PROGRAM | ABOUT |
|---|---|
| Anthropology | Anthropology majors have many opportunities to pursue independent research under the guidance of faculty advisors and to present their findings to audiences within the University and beyond. Students can apply to the department’s undergraduate research grant, enroll in the advanced topic seminar, and complete an honors research project as a part of the honors in anthropology program. |
| Biochemistry | Biochemistry is the study of chemical processes relating to and occurring within living organisms. By combining resources and faculty from across the University, our biochemistry students access the best courses, seminars, and research opportunities available. |
| Biology | Biology offers several opportunities for UPBM students to gain hands-on experience doing modern biological research. |
| Biomedical Engineering | Research in the department covers a broad spectrum, ranging in length scale from molecular to whole animal, and encompassing a wide variety of physiological systems and experimental approaches. Because of the disciplinary nature of biomedical engineering and the close proximity of the med center and other labs and facilities, faculty and students have countless opportunities for collaboration. |
| Brain and Cognitive Sciences | Brain and cognitive sciences (BCS) faculty have research interests that span several major areas of cognitive and brain science, and they make use of a variety of techniques, approaches, and subjects to carry out cutting-edge research of the highest level. |
| Business Program (Undergraduate) | Combines principles of quantitative and applied economics with real-world experiential learning in the disciplines of accounting, AI, business analytics, entrepreneurship, finance, information systems, and marketing. |
| Chemical & Sustainability Engineering | The Department of Chemical & Sustainability Engineering offers the Eisenberg summer internship and other research opportunities. |
| Chemistry | The Chemistry Department offers a variety of opportunities for undergraduates to participate in research programs during the academic year and the summer. |
| Computer Science | The Department of Computer Science provides unique research opportunities to its students due to its strength in cutting-edge fundamental and applied CS research, and its small size and commitment to undergraduate involvement. We encourage all interesting undergraduates to get involved in research early in their education (for experience, credit, or even pay in some cases) whether they intended to pursue a career in industry or continue on to graduate school. |
| Data Science / GIDS-AI | Goergen Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence brings 75 affiliated faculty from 5 schools and 30 departments across the campus for a wide variety of research utilizing large data sets. Major areas of expertise of GIDS faculty include: artificial intelligence and cognition; audio and music engineering; augmented and virtual reality; complex systems and network data science; economics and business data analytics; health analytics and digital health; human-system interfaces; imaging science, visual science, and optics; life sciences and biomedical data science; linguistics and social data sciences; materials design; multisensory human and machine perception; robotics. Research can be done during the academic year for pay or credit, or during the summer for pay through the department’s competitive NSF-supported Research Experience for Undergraduates program. Students can also participate in REU programs at other research universities during the summer. |
| Earth & Environmental Sciences (EES) | EES’s mission is to conduct scientific research and teaching of the highest order to better understand our planet, its climate, and other planetary bodies, and to prepare our students for success in an ever-changing world. EES faculty conduct research encompassing all aspects of the Earth and the environment. From planetary formation to solid Earth processes to ocean and atmosphere dynamics, we seek to better understand the history, present, and future of Earth and planetary processes and how they affect, and are affected by, the living organisms that reside on it. |
| Economics | The Department of Economics at the University of Rochester is one of the world's leading institutions for studying modern economics. Since the inception of its PhD program in the late 1950's, Rochester has provided rigorous analytic training to students from around the world. Rochester’s tradition as a leader in economic research and education continues today with a faculty committed to creating and providing the highest quality research and training in both its graduate and undergraduate programs. |
| Emergency Department Research Associate (EDRA) Program | The Emergency Department Research Associate (EDRA) Program is a resource available to investigators who wish to harness the more than 200,000 patients seen in the Strong Memorial and Highland Hospital Emergency Departments each year. The EDRA program has a robust quality assurance process that ensures research protocols are followed and provides regular feedback on study enrollment, successes and challenges to investigators. Research Associates are initially trained in fundamental concepts of clinical research, confidentiality, consent and procedural skills followed by a continuous hands-on learning model that provides them with ongoing research education, study specific training and quality improvement driven learning. |
| Electrical and Computer Engineering / Audio and Music Engineering | As part of a top-tier research institution, the University of Rochester electrical and computer engineering program is committed to providing undergraduates with resources to explore opportunities for participation in research. |
| English / Theatre Program | English majors have several different ways to pursue research, including the Honors program, advanced seminar courses, and other independent and collaborative research opportunities. |
| Environmental Medicine and Public Health Sciences / Toxicology PhD Training Program | The Department supports and promotes activities including basic and translational biomedical research, education and training at the graduate and postgraduate levels, and clinical programs in occupational health and environmental medicine. |
| Greene Center for Career Education and Connections | The Greene Center provides students with the resources and tools needed to develop connections between their personal and professional aspirations, academic pursuits and co-curricular experiences including on-campus employment, research activities, and internships. |
| History | The Department of History offers the HOUR program for undergraduate students interested in research. In this program, students collaborate with department faculty on their scholarly work. Other opportunities are also available. |
| Institute of Optics (Hajim) | The Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester has been a leader in the training of optical scientists and engineers since 1929. It is the oldest academic optics program in the country. More than half of all optics degrees awarded in the US have been granted by the Institute, and three of the twelve most cited books in physics were authored by Institute faculty. |
| Journal of Undergraduate Research | The Journal of Undergraduate Research (JUR) is dedicated to providing the student body with intellectual perspectives from many academic disciplines. JUR serves as a forum for the presentation of original research thereby encouraging the pursuit of significant scholarly endeavors. Seeking to enhance the scholarly community on campus, JUR also reflects students' varied interests. |
| Kearns Center | Undergraduate programs in the David T. Kearns Center focus on supporting our students in achieving their academic goals, whatever they may be. Through a mix of intensive academic advising, graduate school preparation, and an emphasis on undergraduate research, Kearns Center students graduate on time and attend graduate schools in numbers far above the national average. |
| Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) | The Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) of the University of Rochester is a unique national resource for research and education in science and technology. LLE was established in 1970 as a center for the investigation of the interaction of intense radiation with matter. The National Nuclear Security Administration funds LLE as part of its Stockpile Stewardship Program. |
| Linguistics | Our faculty members make significant contributions in syntax, semantics, sociolinguistics, language documentation, language modeling/annotation, and neuroscience.While our programs are founded on theoretical linguistics, we have close interdisciplinary relationships with experimental psycholinguists in brain and cognitive sciences, computational linguists in computer science, as well as with scholars in philosophy and American Sign Language. |
| Mathematics | Two main ways to get involved in undergraduate mathematics/statistics research are working with a faculty member or participating in an REU, (research experience for undergraduates) summer program. |
| Mechanical Engineering | The first step to working on a research project is getting to know the sort of research done within the department. Talk with faculty and senior students, and visit the research and faculty pages to see what research is being done and by whom. Students must have sophomore status or higher to work on department and independent research project. |
| Meliora Scholars Program (Humanities Center) | The Humanities Center and the School of Arts and Sciences invite applications from current first-year students to the Meliora Scholars program. The selective program offers -funds for students to conduct independent research in the Humanities and Humanistic Social Sciences (History and Anthropology), -educational experiences relevant to humanistic inquiry, such as language acquisition, internships, or Study Abroad programs, may also qualify for funding, -individual and small-group mentoring by faculty members, activities that explore the nature and rewards of humanistic research, such as discussions, field trips, and special opportunities to connect with both UR faculty and visiting scholars, -a humanities-based peer group. |
| Microbiology | The University of Rochester is a top-tier R1 research institution. The Biology Department’s programs are integrated into a world-class life sciences research campus, providing ample opportunities for interactions and collaborations with the adjacent University of Rochester Medical Center. |
| Modern Languages & Cultures | Are you looking to explore an idea, a theme, or a project you are passionate about? Want to delve deeper into a topic that fascinates you? Investigate a different aspect of a literary work, film, photograph, or painting? Provide new insights into important cultural, aesthetic, literary, or theoretical problems? Do you love to pose questions and search for answers? Are you a good writer? Would you like to explore strategies of writing up your findings and conclusions? Then you should definitely consider research in MLC. |
| Neuroscience (Biology Major; with UPBM) | Neuroscience majors gain a solid background in biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics, along with a concentration of courses in neuroscience. As one of the BS tracks in the Undergraduate Program in Biology and Medicine (UPBM), it draws upon the collective strengths of several departments on the River Campus and at the Medical Center. The major is administered by the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences (BCS), and the core and upper-level courses in neuroscience are taught by BCS faculty. |
| Neuroscience (URMC / Graduate Education) | Renewed and novel research and teaching partnerships within Neuroscience and with other departments and centers promises to yield synergy across the neuroscience community in areas of common interest. |
| Office of Undergraduate Research | Come learn about finding and funding your research! The University of Rochester—a top-tier research institution with a compact campus, flexible curriculum, and interdisciplinary focus—fosters unique opportunities for undergraduate research. The Office of Undergraduate Research exists to help students find, fund, and share their research. |
| Physics & Astronomy | The Department of Physics and Astronomy offers a wide range of research opportunities for undergraduates. Although the bulk of the opportunities are only available to juniors and seniors, the department does occasionally offer positions for first-years and sophomores as well. Research can be done during the academic year for pay or credit, or during the summer for pay through the department’s competitive NSF-supported Research Experience for Undergraduates program. Students can also participate in REU programs at other research universities during the summer. |
| Political Science | Faculty in the Political Science Department are open to proposals from students for independent studies and research and occasionally hire undergraduate research assistants. The department has money available to assist undergraduate students with research projects of various sorts, and can aide students who are seeking to share research at select conferences. |
| Psychology | The undergraduate psychology program offers instruction throughout the broad spectrum of behavioral science and mental life. Its content covers theoretical, empirical and technical presentations of psychology as both a social and natural science. Research opportunities include assistantships, research fellowships, honors research, independent study, and online research. |
| Public Health | The public health program offers numerous opportunities for real-world experience supervised by both community and faculty mentors. |
| Public Health Sciences | Our faculty members engage in research activities across the lifespan from maternal-child health to long-term care. Our scientific inquiry uses a range of rigorous methodologies from high powered analytics to mixed methods. Faculty are clustered together in three highly collaborative divisions: Epidemiology, Health Sciences Research, and Social and Behavioral Sciences. |
| Religion and Classics; Jewish Studies | Studying ancient Greece and Rome at Rochester is not merely a matter of antiquarian interest; rather our courses enable students to explore the past in ways that allow them to understand the present and imagine the future. Students study the foundational texts and significant artifacts of the western world in order to understand them on their own terms and in their ancient contexts as well as to develop a deeper awareness of the ways in which classical antiquity has shaped and continues to influence contemporary society. Promoting research, scholarship, and education in Jewish studies through courses, publications, lectures, fellowships, intellectual collaboration, and more. |
| River Campus Libraries | The River Campus Libraries offer students not only a wealth of research support and resources, awards and scholarships, but also research opportunities within the library system. |
| Warner School of Education & Human Development | Centered in one of the leading research universities in the world, Warner faculty are leading change in the fields of education, counseling and human development with research projects, community initiatives, and four research centers. |
| Writing, Speaking, and Argument Program | The Writing, Speaking, and Argument Program (WSAP) supports undergraduate research in writing studies. |