Research involvement is an important part of undergraduate education at the University of Iowa.  Students in all disciplines benefit from being a part of the scholarly work of our faculty and staff.  These opportunities provide undergraduates with hands on experience as they prepare themselves for graduate or professional training.  Outstanding programs and mentors abound at Iowa for students as they begin to sample possible career paths and many undergraduates make research a focal point of their academic training.

Iowa Center for Research by Undergraduates

The Iowa Center for Research by Undergraduates (ICRU) serves as a home base for University of Iowa students from all majors and colleges to learn about research opportunities.  There are many other programs that serve specific training areas or student populations.  Some of these provide excellent opportunities for students from other colleges and universities to develop their research skills by spending a summer at the University of Iowa.

You will find links and brief descriptions below for many of the programs that provide research experience at the University of Iowa.  These can serve as an excellent starting point but if you are interested, don’t stop there.  Use the links provided, look up individual departments, and then follow-up on your interests.  Scholarship benefits from hard work and creativity – finding just the right research experience can benefit from these traits as well.

 

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Undergraduate Funding Opportunities

 

Undergraduate researcherThe Iowa Center for Research by Undergraduates (ICRU) maintains an up-to-date listing of current research opportunities in laboratories and offices around campus.  Additional programs with rotating deadlines are listed below. 

The Iowa Center for Research by Undergraduate (ICRU) Fellows program encourages the direct involvement of undergraduate students in the scholarly efforts of faculty by providing financial support for a student involved in research. Recipients are awarded a stipend of $1,250 per semester, with the expectation that a student will spend approximately 10 hours per week in work associated with the identified project.

Excellence in Undergraduate Research Awards (EURA) recognize outstanding accomplishments in scholarly investigation, artistic creation, or performance by an undergraduate student in the Arts and Humanities, Mathematics and Engineering, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences. Recipients receive a $1000 travel allowance to attend a conference in their area of study.
 
Iowa Biosciences Academy (IBA) program The mission of the Iowa Biosciences Academy (IBA) program is to identify academically talented undergraduate underrepresented students with aspirations for a research career and provide them with first-rate training that will facilitate their entry into Ph.D. programs in the biomedical, behavioral, and biophysical sciences.
 
Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) in Microbiology seeks to foster the careers of the next generation of microbiologists. They provide an intensive 10-week research experience for bright and ambitious undergraduates who are considering a PhD in microbiology or an allied discipline.
 
Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SROP) (Graduate College) is a program to expose talented undergraduates to professional and educational opportunities in the academy. The goal of the program is to increase the number of underrepresented students who pursue academic careers by enhancing their preparation for graduate study through intensive research experiences with faculty mentors.
 
 
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Undergraduate Funding, which awards 70% of the University's undergraduate degrees, is committed to promoting the opportunities for faculty and students to collaborate in research.
 
Summer Undergraduate MSTP Research (SUMR) Program offers an intensive experience for undergraduates interested in combined MD/PhD training for a career as a physician-scientist.
 
Secondary School Training Program (SSTP) offers high school students the opportunity to conduct research under the guidance of faculty mentors in a research area of their choice. Eligible participants must have completed grade 10 or 11 by summer and demonstrate high ability or motivation in science, social science, and/or mathematics
 
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Interdisciplinary Summer Undergraduate Research Program is designed to allow students to tailor their summer training to their own research interests, while providing a broad foundation in their area of concentration. This unique program provides research opportunities in the laboratories of faculty in Genetics, Immunology, Molecular & Cellular Biology, and Neuroscience.
 
Free Radical & Radiation Biology Summer Program is designed to allow students to tailor their summer training to their own research interests, while providing a broad foundation in their area of concentration. This unique program provides research opportunities in the laboratories of faculty in the Free Radical and Radiation Biology Graduate Program.
 
Biochemistry Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships is an eight-week program for college undergraduates providing research experience in structural, biophysical and molecular biochemistry, supervised by department faculty.
 
Undergraduate Scholarships for Study Abroad is the most tangible expression of the UI’s commitment to increasing the number of  students who study/conduct research abroad.
 
EPSCoR Student Internships / Iowa NSF EPSCoR is a 5-year, 20 million dollar grant that involves a partnership between ISU, UNI and the University of Iowa in research about renewable energy (wind and biofuels), energy efficiency and energy policy.   In addition to the research goals, the EPSCoR grant seeks to increase the number and diversity of students who choose careers in STEM (Science Technology, Engineering and Math).  To that end, EPSCoR is supporting paid summer research internships for qualified students.