Undergraduate Research

Boston University Research: Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

UROP’s mission is to nurture curiosity, to capture imagination, and to cultivate relationships between faculty and students beyond the classroom to shape independent, innovative and collaborative leaders. Students may participate in faculty-mentored research experiences, with faculty mentors serving as guides, coaches and facilitators to assist students in honing critical skills while learning the language of their chosen discipline.

Please visit the following links for information about participating in research through UROP:

• • How to Get Started
  • On Campus Research Opportunities
  • Funding and Eligibility
  • Application Process
  • Online Application

Experiential Learning with BU Spark!

BU Spark! is a technology incubator and experiential learning lab for computational and data-driven projects. Housed at the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences, Spark! helps students realize their potential by providing access to resources, knowledge, and expert networks to support students’ innovation and applied learning journeys. Spark! engages with external partners from industry to provide opportunities for students to build their technology and innovation skills, while Spark! mentors and Experts in Residence guide students through the process of developing, troubleshooting and designing technical projects.

Spark! has several programming tracks available to students:

• • BU Spark! 
  • Spark! Fellowships 
    
  • Spark! Xlab 

Please contact buspark@bu.edu for more information about these experiential learning opportunities and related application processes.

Directed Study

A Directed Study is a semester-long course in which a student pursues independent research under the guidance of a faculty member. A student may choose to undertake a Directed Study to pursue in depth an area covered more generally in a course or to explore a topic not normally covered in the curriculum. It is the student’s responsibility to identify the topic fully and to acquire enough information to ensure its worthiness for independent research.

Students will work directly with a faculty member to create a Directed Study Proposal and complete an application, which must be approved by the appropriate Department chair. Please connect with an individual faculty member directly to discuss the possibility of completing a Directed Study.

Courses developed by faculty based on their own research

You should speak with a faculty member directly for more information about courses relevant to their area of research they have developed and when these courses will be offered.

As research opportunities with CDS faculty become available, we will provide more information on the CDS Undergraduate Program page. You may also reach out to cds-advising@bu.edu for additional guidance.