We are currently inviting graduate students to serve as mentors and undergraduate students to participate in an Early Undergraduate Research Experience program (EREP/UR2PHD) for Fall 2025. The goal of this program is to help ease undergraduate students with no prior research experience into their first research experience, preparing them to seek out URA opportunities afterwards.
In this program, undergraduate students will
- work in teams (2-4 students) on a research project with a graduate student mentor
- attend a mandatory, virtual and synchronous research methods course, taught by Computing Research Association (CRA), 2 hours per week over 12 weeks
- attend a mandatory in-person weekly research meetup (on Fridays 12:30pm-1:20pm) with all undergraduate students and graduate mentors in the program, 1 hour per week over 12 weeks
CRA’s research methods course will cover the foundations of research with the goal of supporting students in completing their pre-identified research project. Participants will develop and apply practical research skills, like reading and interpreting research papers, conducting literature reviews, and analyzing and presenting data. Students will hone their research comprehension and communication skills, develop an understanding of research ethics, and build their confidence in their identity as a researcher. All concepts and skills will be taught in the context of students’ projects. The course will also provide participants with an opportunity to foster a peer network of support.
Upon successful completion of the CRA course and other program requirements, students will receive a certificate of completion from CRA, as well as CS399 course credit (graded based on their performance in the CRA course and in research). Please note that CS399 is just like any other courses, i.e., students are responsible for paying tuition for the course.