Undergraduate research adds a dimension to your university experience that will better prepare you for your future.

As a researcher, whether in the lab or field, you will experience discovery and challenges, and learn problem-solving skills beyond those you develop in the classroom or teaching laboratory. You will learn to work independently and as part of a team while improving your oral and written communication skills.

Undergraduate research broadens your skillset and makes you a better candidate for the next step in your educational path.

Guide to Undergraduate Research

• NSM Undergraduate Research Page
  Find out about opportunities in NSM and at UH.
• Research Opportunities Outside of UH
  Explore research experiences at other institutions in Houston, in Texas or out of state.
• Ways to Get Involved in Research
  Learn how to volunteer or be a work study in a lab and about the Senior Honor Thesis, Senior Research Project and Special Problems Courses.
• Should I Seek Undergraduate Research?
  There are many benefits to participating in research as an undergraduate.
• Approaching Faculty for Opportunities
  Learn how to determine what faculty are working on projects you are interested in and best practices for contacting them.
• UH Office of Undergraduate Research and Major Awards
  This group promotes mentored research and fellowship opportunities for all undergraduate students.

What Our Faculty Say About Undergraduate Research

Undergraduate students have worked on their Senior Honors Thesis projects in my lab. These students gained invaluable research experiences that strengthened their academic knowledge in preparation for their future graduate and medical school careers.

...They get to decide what exactly they want to pursue in the future.

...They develop verbal and writing skills that are necessary for professional development.

- Jokubas Ziburkus, (Neurobiology), Cell and Molecular Biology

I strongly encourage students interested in graduate school to gain research experience as undergraduates. You will be able to find out if you truly enjoy working in a particular field (and try additional fields if you don't like the first one). In addition, research experience will greatly strengthen your application to graduate school. Finally, if you enter graduate school with the sophistication gained from working in a laboratory, you will be more successful as a graduate student.

- Steven Pennings, (Salt Marsh Ecology), Ecology and Evolution

I think that research experience in the lab and outside of classes is an excellent way to gain an understanding of the approaches and basics of scientific research. To interact with researchers and graduate students on a daily basis gives otherwise abstract “research” a personal face. Creativity, thinking and sometimes hard work are required to plan an experiment, to perform it and to overcome difficulties along the way. The reward: The excitement that comes with success and novel findings!

- Brigitte Dauwalder, (Genetics), Cell and Molecular Biology

Undergraduate researchers are an integral part of the work in our lab. Student research ranges from assisting a graduate student to designing and implementing an independent project. I have two hopes for the students in my lab: first is that students will get useful and interesting data that will further the research of our group; second, and perhaps more importantly, students should get to experience the excitement, and tedium, of knowledge discovery. You can never know what doing labwork or fieldwork is really all about unless you get your hands dirty and do it. Actively participating in research can convince a student that this is really the coolest thing possible that someone gets to do for a living, or that this is something that they could never stand to do again--either way, they've learned something valuable.

- Rebecca Zufall, (Genome Evolution), Ecology and Evolution

What Our Undergraduate Student-Researchers Say

During my undergraduate years, while classes were incredibly important to me, I feel that research is what broadened my horizons and taught me how to be a thinker. From my research experiences, I developed a true understanding for science. It has prepared me to excel in any field I should pursue.

- Jessica Brumley, Biology graduate

My research experience has offered a unique perspective in my undergraduate experience. It has enriched my biology degree beyond the skills gained in the classroom. I have been able to apply my biology knowledge to complex problems that science is attempting to answer every day. It's exciting to be a part of this field.

- Mary Elhardt, Biology graduate