Illinois Office of
Undergraduate Research

The Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program (URAP) offers undergraduate students with little or no research experience the opportunity to work with graduate students and post-doctoral scholars on their research projects, explore the culture and process of research, and build on their existing abilities within a community of scholars. Running each Spring semester, the undergraduate component of URAP consists of two equally important parts: a one-on-one research experience with their research mentor, and the Introduction to Research course. The course is designed to complement the research mentoring experience, orienting undergraduate mentees to broader topics in the research process.

Participation in URAP is by application only; the application portal for undergraduate students opens early in the Fall semester. Students selected to be part of URAP are expected to commit to: (1) attending the regular weekly class meetings of GC 295, Introduction to Research (3 credit hours) with Office of Undergraduate Research instructors; and (2) working one-on-one with their research mentors, an average of 5-6 hours per week. As part of the course requirement, students will complete a final project, consisting of a poster, to be presented at the Undergraduate Research Symposium, an annual event held in late April.

WE ASK THAT YOU PLEASE READ ALL OF THE FOLLOWING AS THERE IS IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT BOTH HOW TO APPLY, REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICATION, AND WHERE TO FIND RESEARCH PROJECT DESCRIPTIONS, ETC.

Application is open to all registered undergraduate students who have little or no research experience (both domestic and international).

As part of the application, students will provide a statement of interest that speaks to the projects in which they are interested. Please read the project descriptions carefully. While these projects are meant for students with few or no research skills, participation in this program does require diligence, enthusiasm, and commitment.

The list of research project descriptions can be found here: Research Mentors 2024/25

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Attend one of our in-person or virtual informational meetings to get tips on creating a good statement of interest, learn why you should participate, and have all your questions answered by a friendly and knowledgable OUR staff member. No advance registration is required to attend an informational meeting. Attendance requires an Illinois Zoom account.

• September 13 from 3 - 4pm. Lincoln Hall, Room 1065
• September 18 from 4 - 5pm. Lincoln Hall, Room 1065
• September 27 from 3 - 4pm. Zoom

You can find a recorded version of our information meeting below. If you are having issues viewing the video, you can find it linked here.

We are offering two drop-in sessions for review of URAP draft statements of interest. The first will be Friday, October 4, from 2 to 4pm, in room 515 in the Illini Union Bookstore Building (IUB; 807 S Wright Street, 5th Floor). The second will be on Tuesday, October 8, from 2 to 4pm, in room 515 in the IUB, 5th floor. No registration required.

Requirements

As part of the application, you will upload a Statement of Interest (double spaced, not to exceed 1,000 words, must be in 11 or 12 pt font, and saved as a PDF) that contains the following sections:

• Section 1: Introduction to yourself and why you are interested in URAP and gaining research experience.
• Section 2: The ranking of your top 3 project choices with brief essays outlining why you have chosen each project.
• Section 3: What is the anticipated impact of this experience (i.e., what will this experience do for you.)

Timeline

Application portal is currently open; the deadline to apply is Friday, October 11, 2024, at 11:59 p.m.

Finalists will be notified by end of day October 29, and will be invited to interview with the research mentors for the week of October 30 - November 7. Final selection will be made by the research mentors. Undergraduate students selected to participate will be notified by November 11. Successful applicants will be given course CRN, etc., in order to register for the Spring 2025 semester.

Students can apply at the "Apply" link below.

Apply