Opportunities

The College of Liberal Arts provides its students a variety of opportunities to create fulfilling, engaging, and rewarding educational experiences. One such avenue of educational enrichment features research initiated and conducted by students under the guidance of college faculty.

Faculty-guided undergraduate research spans the disciplines. For example, some students participate in archaeological excavations, while others interview individuals who share a common experience or background. Students may examine historical texts or observe current elections. Regardless of the specific content, the types of projects undertaken all coalesce around the core areas of a liberal arts education and are of great value to the students who pursue them and the faculty who oversee them. For undergraduate students who want to participate in faculty-guided research, you can direct them to the following resources:

EUREKA! 

EUREKA!™ is a Web-based guide to faculty research and research opportunities for undergraduates at The University of Texas at Austin. It features an online directory of faculty research interests for the more than 1,800 faculty members and research scientists at UT Austin. Students use EUREKA!™ to find tips on getting started in research, information on funding and publication, and postings by UT Austin faculty for research positions here on campus.

Office of Undergraduate Research

The Office of Undergraduate Research helps connect students to research opportunities, provides individual advising for students at all levels who have an interest in undergraduate research, provides workshops for student groups, and offers course credit for undergraduates participating in research.

Departmental Websites

Since faculty members are not required to list their research opportunities on Eureka or through the Office of Undergraduate Research, students are also encouraged to talk to faculty members in the departments to see if they are conducting research of interest.

Funding

Liberal Arts Undergraduate Research Awards

Undergraduate research awards support undergraduate student research and enable students to attend conferences pertaining to their field of study. Awards of up to $1,000 are available each fall and spring. For more information, please contact Amelia Rey-Shannon at 475-7586.

Liberal Arts Undergraduate Research Fellowships

The Undergraduate Research Fellowship program provides support for specific scholarly research projects conducted by full-time UT Austin undergraduate students enrolled in any department. These fellowships are intended to cover costs associated with academic research projects proposed and written by student applicants and undertaken with the supervision of a university tenured or tenure-track faculty member, lecturer, senior lecturer or full-time research scientist/engineer. Some restrictions apply. See current application for more information.

University Scholarships and Awards

Undergraduate researchers at The University of Texas at Austin will find many opportunities for funding and recognition. Many university scholarships and awards are available, ranging from $500 to $20,000, to help with the cost of research. Each scholarship and award has its own criteria, deadlines, and application. For more details about each of theses awards, please contact the awarding department.

US-Mexico/Borderlands Student Research Awards

The College of Liberal Arts will present up to twenty $2,000 research awards for undergraduate and graduate students conducting research on US-Mexico/Borderlands issues. At least four of these awards will be reserved for students involved in research projects working closely with local communities or NGOs.

Additional resources

National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR)

The National Conferences on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), established in 1987, is dedicated to promoting undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative activity in all fields of study by sponsoring an annual conference for students. Unlike meetings of academic professional organizations, this gathering of young scholars welcomes presenters from all institutions of higher learning and from all corners of the academic curriculum. Through this annual conference, NCUR creates a unique environment for the celebration and promotion of undergraduate student achievement, provides models of exemplary research and scholarship, and helps to improve the state of undergraduate education.

Undergraduate Research Journal

The University of Texas at Austin Undergraduate Research Journal is a newly created student-edited and -published multidisciplinary journal of undergraduate research. Its purpose is to highlight the research and independent studies of undergraduate students. The journal will present this work to the university community so that others may gain an appreciation for the independent and creative intellectual work of undergraduate students at The University of Texas at Austin.

Research Units

A list of all organized research units at The University of Texas at Austin, with links to the centers, departments, and programs.

Undergraduate Research Week

The Senate of College Councils and the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Studies host Undergraduate Research Week every spring. Colleges and organizations, including the College of Liberal Arts, coordinate events all over campus that week to showcase the work of undergraduate researchers.