Research Opportunities

One of the world's premier research universities, UC Berkeley offers students in the College of Letters and Science an extraordinary array of opportunities to learn from and work alongside world-class scientists involved in cutting edge research projects. You may conduct research projects of your own and work in state-of-the-art laboratories used by scientists to conduct groundbreaking research. More undergraduates are involved in research at Cal than at any university in the country.

The Office of Undergraduate Research helps you map out your strategy, connect you with faculty and mentors, and assist you with obtaining funding opportunities to support your research pursuits.

Research programs

Two types of research projects are open to undergraduate students:

  1. Faculty-initiated research, coordinated through the Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program (URAP). The program provides opportunities for you to work with faculty on cutting-edge research projects.
  2. Independent research: Choose from dozens of programs under the Berkeley Undergraduate Research Programs or browse through the opportunities available under Programs at a Glance

Summer research: To learn about how you can spend a summer conducting exciting research projects, see Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships at Berkeley (SURF) 

Travel grants for undergraduate students: Small grants are available to L&S undergraduates who need to travel to collect data for independent research or to present their research findings.

Publish your research

For additional information about research opportunities and resources, email research@learning.berkeley.edu.

In Your Words

"My apprenticeship has been the best experience of my college career. I have worked alongside grad students, post docs, and professors on cutting-edge scientific research experiments."

— Bianca Yip, archeology major

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| Updated: Jun 13, 2011