<p>Is it important for the undergraduate research to be directly related to your graduate research?</p>
<p>Well I'm going to be a 3rd year Structural Engineering major and I'm still learning about grad school admissions. I hear that one of the most important things is research. Now, well how relevant should the UG research be with your Grad research. I'm doing something aerospace related (but still the structural aspect) but I want to get into something more civil. I'm planning on getting an MS btw so I hear that research isn't as important.</p>
<p>Your undergraduate research doesn't have to relate to the topic you're hoping to explore in grad school -- admissions committees understand that you may not have a wide range of choices for your undergrad lab, and that your interests may change between the time you start research and the time you start grad school.</p>
<p>It's nice if you are happy with what you're doing as an undergrad and want to continue that as a grad student, but more for your purposes than for actually getting into graduate school -- it's just that it's easier to jump right into your project as a grad student if you already have a good grasp of the technical aspects of your field.</p>