Undergraduate Research Program (URP)

Rensselaer's Undergraduate Research Program (URP) provides real-world, hands-on research experience for students like you. Through this unique program, you have the opportunity to work directly with a faculty member on a bonafide research project.

Some examples of projects students have been involved in include:

  • Characterization of Supply Chain After Katrina
  • Nanostructure Synthesis of Energy Materials
  • Fuel Cells and Electrode Coating Development

The program offers many advantages and the opportunity to:

  • work on a project whose impact could be worldwide and can lead to patents and/or grants
  • interact with some of the most informed and learned professors in the world
  • apply knowledge gained in the classroom to actual problems and research situations
  • network with faculty beyond the classroom, opening the door to other opportunities
  • gain critical leadership, team-building and critical thinking skills
  • establish industry connections that could lead to a co-op or future employment
  • distinguish yourself from your peers
  • publish as an undergraduate
  • receive course credit in a more dynamic way or supplement your income

I'm not an engineering or science major. Can I still participate?

Definitely! You will find that faculty in all the Institute's schools conduct research and may need undergraduate researchers to assist them. Students from HASS, IT, EMAC, and Management -- along with the engineers and science majors -- all participate regularly in the URP.