<p>How could one determine the strength of a university's undergraduate research programs?</p>
<p>Some things that I would look at are what proportion of graduating seniors have participated in research, how many opportunities are available in any given year, what institutions the college partners with to provide research opportunities, etc.</p>
<p>noimagination,</p>
<p>Some universities (few, I think) have a well-developed university-wide research program that has been institutionalized, given a name, has a coordinator; e.g. MIT and its UROP program.</p>
<p>However, I think it is a good deal more haphazard at most schools, including those which do in fact offer good opportunities to those who are interested. In most places, the opportunities vary by department, and probably vary within departments, depending on how many professors have successful grant-funded research programs.</p>
<p>This is what my oldest did (research opportunities were the final deal-maker for him when he made his college decision): he arranged to visit with undergraduate program directors (every department has one) when he visited campus, and he asked them directly what kind of opportunities might be available, and when. He talked to some professors when he visited. When he went for accepted student days, he talked again to faculty and students about research.</p>
<p>A suggestion: start looking at the web pages of faculty members at schools/departments that interest you. See who is doing stuff that interests you, and send a polite and short e-mail that inquires whether or not undergraduates get a chance to do research. Also identify the undergraduate program director for the majors that interest you and ask that person (often a faculty member) how many undergraduates get to do real research, and at what point–sometimes students can not get into a lab until senior year, but sometimes top students can find a spot sooner.</p>
<p>There’s no really good way, I don’t think. You can look to see if the school has organized programs, like NIMH-COR, RISE, MBRS, Mellon, etc. or see if the website has a specific page for student research. But a lot of times, student research happens based on the industriousness of individual students. My small liberal arts college is not known for research - student or otherwise - but I was able to get on a research project with a professor up for tenure because I asked.</p>
<p>The best way is honestly what midmo said. No one will know better than the professors, and sending a short email that inquires whether or not undergraduates do research in the department should uncover some information. It is the one thing I recommend high schools students contact professors about.</p>
<p>I think undergraduates should be able to get into lab at the latest in their junior year, but really you should be able to get it by your sophomore year. You need at least a full year of research before you will be even marginally competitive at PhD programs, and in some very competitive fields (like psychology, especially social and clinical) even one year is not competitive. Many clinical hopefuls have to take 2 years off to work as a lab manager or a senior research assistant before getting a spot in a program.</p>
<p>Thanks for the opinions.</p>
<p>There are numbers that could be produced to compare this fairly, but that sort of data is not widely available.</p>
<p>Your best bet is to visit, talk to faculty and students, find out how to get paid or course credit for research, and look at concentrations/honors requirements. For example, almost all of the science concentrations (excluding a few kinds of engineering) at Brown require research. IMO, that’s very different from making research possible for undergraduates, it’s mandated.</p>
<p>You can look at the Washington Monthly rankings, which break out research expenditures, per capita alumni PhD rate, science/engineering PhDs awarded, faculty awards, and national academy memberships. Take it all with a grain of salt, and also consider the kind of program requirements modestmelody mentions. There are many intangibles. Many liberal arts colleges, or smaller LAC-like universities, provide excellent preparation to do graduate-level research, even though they may not offer the broad range of cutting-edge research opportunities you’d find at Berkeley or the huge research investments you’d find at Hopkins.</p>
<p>noimagination,</p>
<p>I forgot to mention summer research opportunities on campus. You may wish to investigate whether or not there is a formal program that allows students to compete for full-time research slots. My son was lucky enough to land one of these spots, and it has resulted in publishable research. In the case of his university, I was able to find a web page devoted to the topic by using the Search This Site function and just typing in “summer and research”.</p>
<p>@midmo: One of the reasons I am interested in a school-based research program is so I can get recommendations for a summer REU.</p>
<p>I would look at both research and independent study/learning experiences. Some places are describing research more as independent studies or creating courses because this tends to open up this kind of work to the humanities and social sciences rather than making it sound purely science-driven. Schools that have strong commitment to independent learning experiences across the board are strong undergraduate research schools most of the time, provided a base level of research productivity that’s high enough.</p>
<p>I second modestmelody’s suggestion. Especially if you are in the humanities or social sciences, I would examine research support very carefully.</p>
<p>Many of the top schools throw money at their science majors but have very little (if any) money for humanities/social science research.</p>
<p>I’m looking at science/engineering, so that’s not as much of a concern.</p>
<p>Yes, it is a concern though. A culture of research and independent study by students that transcends discipline is a big deal.</p>
<p>You also could falsely assume that less research is available by looking in the wrong places. For example, not looking at the availability of course credit for research because these courses are listed as independent studies.</p>
<p>This note is not for the OP, who is focused on natural sciences and engineering, but for lurkers who may be interested in social sciences and want some experience with real research, be aware that some economists have large research grants, and do hire undergraduates. </p>
<p>Again, it may be necessary to look at web pages and find out who has research money. My H is an economics professor with lots of research money. There is no organized program to place undergrads in social science research groups at his university, probably because many faculty members do purely theoretical stuff. At this time, H supports a lot of graduate students and only a few undergraduates, but if an energetic, enthusiastic, qualified undergraduate walked in and ASKED about learning to to research, that student would be accommodated. Look at the web pages, read up on what is going on and take the initiative.</p>