UMass Boston

There are many benefits to doing research as an undergraduate student:

• Advancing knowledge by making new and unique analyses and discoveries
• Develop your critical thinking skills
• Making connections with faculty, students, and community members
• Helping to shape or refine your academic and/or career interests
• Building skills you will use in future jobs and graduate programs
• Traveling to local, state, national, and international conferences
• Getting paid for your research 

To learn more about undergrad research, see the following sites:

• Council on Undergrad Research
• Undergraduate journals in your discipline (such as this example for political science)
• ScholarWorks (the Healey library site where we post Honors students' theses)

When seeking a research opportunity, we encourage you to consider:

1) Speaking with individual professors

• Many undergrad students start doing research within their classes, such as capstone courses, research methods courses, and internship courses.  If you would like to build upon these experiences, and take on a research opportunity outside of the classroom:
• Meet with the Undergrad Program Director, or Thesis Seminar instructor, or the chair for your department
• Look through the faculty listing for your department, and read the summaries of each faculty member's research, to see whose research might interest you the most
• Ask the professors you've taken classes with what their research focuses on

2) Taking part in formal research programs

Research and Internship Opportunities in the Sciences

• Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Biology
• UMass Boston CatCH (Caregiver, Child and Community Health) Scholars Program (research internships in caregiver, child and community health)
• Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program (provides opportunities for undergraduates from underrepresented groups to excel at the undergraduate level in science- and math-related fields, work toward doctoral degrees, and undertake careers as college teachers)
• The UMass Boston - Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center Research Partnership
• The Initiative for Maximizing Student Development
• Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program (for advancing the careers of community college students interested in pursuing a biomedical research career)

Research and Internship Opportunities in the Liberal Arts

The Undergraduate Research Portfolio encourages you to participate in research—and become part of this analytical and creative activity at UMass Boston. The Undergraduate Research Portfolio gives you the opportunity for high quality faculty/student intellectual exchange by helping you to learn about and participate in research in your field. Visit the College of Liberal Arts for more information.

The application window closed on Monday, November 17, 2025. Students were notified of the committee’s decision by email at the end of Fall 2025. 

The Office of the Vice Provost for Research is pleased to call for applications for its Academic Year 2025-2026 Annual Research Grant Competition for Undergraduate Students. These funds assist UMass Boston undergraduate students with expenses that they may incur while conducting research or working on a creative project. The application deadline is Monday, November 17, 2025, by 5 p.m. Only completed applications will be accepted. Grant awards will be announced by the end of finals week of the Fall 2025 semester.

Application Process: Submit as PDF files the following three documents to undergradresearch@umb.edu:

• The completed application form – which includes a ~150 word proposal and a detailed budget (see section on “Award Amounts” below)
• A copy of the student's transcript (an unofficial transcript is acceptable)
• A recommendation letter from the student's faculty sponsor (the mentor for the research project for which you are applying for funds) emailed directly to undergradresearch@umb.edu (faculty sponsors, please take special note of the "Eligibility" and "Allowable Uses" sections defined below)

The Application Form and Detailed Instructions are available by clicking on the appropriate link directly below.  Please download the application in order to complete.

Application Form   Detailed Instructions

​Eligibility: Students from all undergraduate colleges with 60 or more credits are eligible. Students are ordinarily expected to have a GPA of 3.0 or higher. Graduating seniors can apply, but they must submit receipts prior to their official graduation date.

Award Amounts: Funding is limited. Grants are typically in the $500-$1500 range. In exceptional circumstances, grant requests totaling up to $2000 (materials and conferences in total) may be considered.

Allowable Uses of Funds:  Categories of need for which funds may be sought include, but are not limited to: purchase of books for research, purchase of materials for experiments, payments to human subjects, Xeroxing, equipment, travel to archives, libraries, or other research sites, and travel to present research results at national and regional conferences.  Be sure to explain why books must be purchased rather than borrowed from libraries. Explain why materials for experiments are not normally stocked by the laboratory.

Distribution of Funds: Funds must be distributed no later than your graduation date (if you are a graduating senior) or by June 30, 2026 (if you are not a graduating senior). Funds will be distributed in different ways, depending on the expense: 

For conferences or purchases the student makes directly, funds will be distributed by reimbursing the student for the costs incurred. Funds will not be issued to the student until the expenses are incurred (e.g., for a conference, once the trip is completed). Receipts (or other similar documentation, if applicable) will be required for reimbursement. 

Funds cannot be transferred to programs or departments. For items that cannot be procured by individuals (i.e. chemicals, and other lab related supplies), awardees will be sent instructions (upon award receipt) about how your program or department can obtain accounting information. Only after obtaining accounting information can the program or department create the requisition for procurement.

Presentations at Conferences: If you are planning to present your work at a conference, you are eligible to apply for funds to travel to that conference. You should apply for funding now, even if you don’t know whether you will be accepted by the conference(s) to present. On the application, you will be asked to estimate the costs of attending. Keep in mind that your travel support will only be funded if your paper/ poster is accepted for presentation and only lodging, transportation and registration costs will be considered. (Funding for “per diems” for food will not be considered).  Please note that costs to cover travel to the annual MA Statewide Research Conference in Amherst are provided to interested students through another process, and should not be included here.

Travel Registration Requirements

Decision making process and notification: All funding decisions are made by the Undergraduate Research Committee, which is a faculty committee. Students and/or sponsors may be contacted by the committee if more information is needed during the process.

Students were notified of the committee’s decision by email. Decisions were announced by the end of the Fall 2025 finals week. 

We encourage you to present your research:

• In your capstone & research methods course
• At your department Research Day
• At your college Research Day
• At the Massachusetts Undergraduate Research Conference (each April, in Amherst MA)
• At the annual conference for the National Council on Undergraduate Research (NCUR)
• At local, regional, and national conferences with your research discipline

We encourage you to publish your research:

• On the UMass Boston ScholarWorks website
• In professional journals specific to your research discipline
• In undergraduate journals specific to your research discipline, such as this example for political science

There are two ways to obtain funding for Undergraduate Research Funds:

• Funding for summer experiences

              Beacon Student Success Fellowship (BSSF)

• Funding for the academic year 

              Undergraduate Research Funds (URFs)

Graduating with Honors

• Undergraduate students can graduate with honors through their major or the Honors College
• For honors in your major, see the Undergrad Program Director or the thesis Seminar instructor, in your major department.

Fellowships

Fellowship awards fund students’ travel and living expenses as they perform research, teaching, or service during their undergraduate and graduate years.  Some awards are targeted towards specific fields, but others fund experiences in any academic discipline.

See available fellowship opportunities.

Awards

Kingston-Mann Undergraduate Student Research Awards for Excellence in Diversity/Inclusion Scholarship

The awards competition honors the work of undergraduate students whose research contributes to the scholarship of diversity and inclusion. The awards program is intended to encourage students to discover their potential as researchers. Included are eight colleges and universities from across New England. For information about the award, selections from past award-winning essays, and application forms, please visit www.umb.edu/kmawards.

College and Department Specific Awards

Many colleges and departments on campus have awards specific to students within those colleges. Please see your department for a list of these awards.