ECE Undergrad Research Opportunities

ECE Research Labs

ECE faculty hire undergraduates to work in research labs during the Spring, Summer, and Fall semesters. Undergraduates are encouraged to attend the annual ECE Undergraduate Research Fair in January to connect with hiring faculty and learn about the available positions. Visit the event page to read job descriptions from last January’s fair! You can also check out our Research page to check out the broad range of active labs and identify faculty members you’d be interested in working with!

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) assists Boston University undergraduates who are interested in conducting research projects under the supervision and guidance of BU faculty members. Students may participate in the program for academic credit, for a stipend, or on a volunteer basis. All UROP research projects must be of a caliber that is worthy of academic credit and of a duration of at least one semester (or ten weeks during the summer).

Summer Term Alumni Research Scholars (STARS)

The goal of the STARS program is to promote faculty-mentored, full-time research experiences for College of Engineering undergraduates during the summer. STARS will receive a stipend and up to 12 weeks of summer housing in a BU residence hall. To be eligible for the STARS program, students must receive a weekly stipend of at least $300 from an engineering faculty mentor to participate in full-time research activities during the summer. Note that full-time research means that students may NOT enroll in summer courses. The length of housing support will coincide with the period the student is actively engaged in full-time research and receiving a stipend.

Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU)

The Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering is proud to host a National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) in Photonics. If you are currently a sophomore or junior in any engineering, mathematics or natural science discipline, you can consider joining during the summer for an exciting ten-week research opportunity in the heart of Boston. Students will receive a stipend of $3,920, as well as free on-campus housing. Boston University and the National Science Foundation strongly encourage women and underrepresented minorities to apply to this program.

iGEM

The International Genetically Engineered Machine competition (iGEM) is the premiere undergraduate synthetic biology competition. Student teams are given a kit of biological parts at the beginning of the summer from the Registry of Standard Biological Parts. Working at their own schools over the summer, they use these parts and new parts of their own design to build biological systems and operate them in living cells. iGEM at Boston University is a multi-disciplinary effort consisting of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Bioinformatics, and Biomedical Engineering students, in partnership with STEM Pathways. The focus is on connecting software design flows based on computer science concepts to physical DNA assembly in the laboratory environment. iGEM recruitment begins in the spring semester. For more information contact Professor Douglas Densmore (dougd@bu.edu), or connect with STEM Pathways.

Boston University Student Satellite for Applications and Training (BUSAT):

BUSAT is a student-driven, grassroots scientific spaceflight hardware development program. BUSAT’s primary goal is education and training. This is accomplished by providing students with the resources and responsibilities normally reserved for a professional environment. BUSAT’s current mission is to develop a modular, scalable, scientific spacecraft bus that will enable scientific research at the university and amateur resource levels. Using the bus, BUSAT will explore the relationship between the earth’s ionosphere and magnetosphere in low-earth orbit by providing simultaneous measurements of energetic electron flux and auroral light emissions, magnetic field variations, and characteristics of the plasma environment.

Distinguished Summer Research Fellowships (DSRF)

Each year, Fellows spend the summer engaged in a transformative research experience under the guidance of a faculty member. Students must maintain a 3.0 average to be eligible for the fellowship, and may conduct their projects during the summer following either their sophomore or junior year.

Trustee and FIRST Scholars

These scholarship recipients are also eligible for research funding for up to 10 hours of research a week for one semester. Students wishing to utilize this benefit must complete the Presidential/Engineering Scholars form above and submit to the Dean’s Office for approval.