Undergraduate Research Opportunities

Many students in the Eberly College of Science are interested in pursuing research opportunities. If a student is interested in pursuing research opportunities for credit (ie. Biol 296, Biol 496), the following steps should be considered:

1. Become familiar with the research that is currently being conducted by faculty at Penn State. One can start this process by obtaining lists of current faculty research located in the various departmental offices. One can also access current research lists on the World Wide Web at the undergraduate research site.
2. Prepare a prioritized list of about 4-6 faculty whose research activities are close to your interests.
3. Schedule appointments to speak with the faculty you have selected to determine such things as
4. • a) available lab space
   • b) faculty time
   • c) available funding to accept you
   • d) how many hours/week of your time needed for research effort
   • e) the number of additional semesters you can give to the research
   • f) the number of credits for which you should register.
5. Be aware that registration for 296/496 is under department control, which means you must fill out a drop/add form signed by the professor with whom you are enrolling for research credit, and take the form to that department offering the research so that they can add the course to your schedule.