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Undergraduate Research
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Research is an integral part of undergraduate student academic preparation, and the College of Science and Health provides many research opportunities and internships for students.  Here you will find access to information about seeking research opportunities, presenting your research, and publishing in the college's peer-reviewed undergraduate research journal DePaul Discoveries.

Recent Articles in DePaul Discoveries

Sequencing DNA

Hannah Willis, Olivia Schweikart, and Dr. Windsor Aguirre explore the use of DNA barcoding to catalogue freshwater fish in Ecuador.

Read more

Molecular Energy

Christian Etnyre looks at energy migration across molecules in two-dimensional space.

Read more

Tree Health

Shelby Johnson analyzes the presence of lichen on Chicago area oak and non-oak tree species.

Read more

Check out all of the articles in this issue

Undergraduate Student Research Spotlight

Healthcare to Zoology

CSH Dean's Undergraduate Fellows produce original research.

Read more

First-Hand Discovery

Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science Summer Research Program spurs collaboration and applied research.

Read more

Research Excellence

Katherine Petralia receives the 2023 Excellence in Undergraduate Research Award.

Read more

Finding a Lab

Search the College of Science and Health's Faculty Bio Page to find faculty who share your research interests. Read some abstracts from their recent publications to assess whether there is a match with your research interests. Look for classes they teach and take one. Reach out to the faculty member, lab manager, or graduate student to discuss potential research opportunities and volunteering. Students typically volunteer on research projects prior to seeking funding with their faculty mentor. See the video below for tips and tricks.

Getting Funded

We have several grant and fellowship programs to immerse students in undergraduate research. Click on any of the opportunities listed below to find out more about them.

If you are currently working with a College of Science and Health faculty member on a research project, or perhaps you are interested in joining a research group in the college, talk to your research mentor about the possibility of submitting an Undergraduate Research Assistantship Program (URAP) application. This program has been created to support DePaul faculty in their pursuit of research and the creation of knowledge with a dual purpose:

  1. To provide valuable learning opportunities and financial support for undergraduates to assist and collaborate with faculty members who conduct research projects and are engaged in scientific activities, and,
  2. To offer support to faculty engaged in the above activities consistent with the university's commitment to the pursuit of scientific knowledge.

All applications for Winter/Spring funding must be received by October 15 of the preceding year. Applications for Summer/Autumn funding must be received by May 9. Funding is for up to 75 hours per quarter ($1,185). The committee will begin reviewing applications after the posted deadline. Applicants will be notified of the committee's decision approximately one month following the posted grant deadline.

To submit an application, please complete the following steps:

  1. Download and read the application instructions.
  2. Fill out and submit the online student application.
  3. Ask your research mentor to complete and submit the online faculty application.
  4. Once you receive the URAP award, review and complete the URAP checklist.
  5. At the end of the quarter, you will have to fill out the URAP student evaluation online.  Your faculty mentor will likewise have to complete an online URAP faculty evaluation.

For more information, please contact CSHResearch@depaul.edu or Dr. Susan D. McMahon, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs.

The Undergraduate Summer Research Program (USRP) of the College of Science and Health grants financial awards to undergraduate students in the support of summer research projects undertaken in collaboration with a faculty member.  The program offers a complement to the typical classroom experience by giving students an opportunity to design a project, develop a proposal for competitive review, work closely with a faculty mentor on the project, and prepare results for presentation at the annual CSH Undergraduate Research Showcase as well as DePaul Discoveries, the college's undergraduate research journal.

The application deadline is April 9. Funding is available for 15-30 hours per week over the summer ($2,370-$4,740).

For more information, please contact CSHResearch@depaul.edu or Dr. Susan D. McMahon, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs.

MUSE is a pilot mentorship program designed to support both research learning opportunities for undergraduate students and original graduate student research, including thesis work. With a MUSE grant, CSH undergraduate students conduct research with the guidance of a Master's level student mentor. The mentor and mentee receive $750 each to collaborate on a project of their choosing from May 2023 through May 2024, while gaining experience presenting their work to the scientific community. MUSE partners are expected to participate in the STEM Undergraduate Research Showcase in the Fall and are encouraged to further present or publish their work, including in the College's undergraduate research journal, DePaul Discoveries. MUSE especially aims to facilitate undergraduate support for students from diverse, underrepresented groups.

The application deadline is March 1. Students must have a corresponding research partner and faculty sponsor prior to applying, and student partners must apply jointly to be considered. Partners do not have to be from the same department, and inter-disciplinary collaboration is encouraged. Students who do not have a partner should reach out to CSHResearch@depaul.edu for matching support immediately and well before the application deadline. Please note that a match is not guaranteed, and students are encouraged to seek their own partnerships by sharing their research interests with faculty and students for successful matching.

Applicants will be notified of a decision in early May, after which the program term begins. To submit, please complete the following steps. All materials must be received by the deadline to be considered:

  • Develop the project (can be thesis based) and discuss with your faculty sponsor.
  • Meet and discuss the project with your research partner.
  • Download and read the application instructions.
  • Fill out and submit the MUSE student application. Mentees complete the Undergraduate form while mentors complete the Graduate form.
  • Ask your faculty sponsor to complete and submit the online recommendation.

The Dean's Undergraduate Fellowship is a 10-week paid summer research internship program for undergraduate students in the College of Science and Health. Fellows selected for the program are placed at world-class institutions in the Chicago area.  Fellows participate in research projects onsite with a principal investigator during the summer. Internship applications are available on Handshake. Students can apply for multiple sites. For questions or help with your application, contact the Office of Advising and Student Services.

The application deadline is February 15. Funding is for up to 250 hours over the summer ($3,950). All applications will be made available on Handshake by the end of the fall quarter.

The Dean's Undergraduate Fellowship is funded exclusively by generous donors. Please consider supporting the Dean's Undergraduate Fellowship by clicking here. A partial list of recent research sites is shown below:

  • Adler Planetarium, Far Horizons Program
  • Argonne National Laboratory, Advanced Photon Source
  • Brookfield Zoo, Animal Nutrition
  • Chicago Department of Public Health, HIV/AIDS Unit
  • Field Museum, Lichenography
  • Field Museum, Botanical Collections
  • Lincoln Park Zoo, ZooMonitor Program
  • Lincoln Park Zoo, Urban Wildlife Institute
  • Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Butterfly Conservation
  • Peptide Synthesis Core, Northwestern University's Lurie Children's Hospital
  • Rush University Medical Center, Autism Assessment, Research, Treatment, and Services (AARTS) Center
  • Shedd Aquarium, Horticultural Program

The DePaul University and Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science (RFUMS) Summer Research Program is a paid summer biomedical sciences research program for undergraduates on the Rosalind Franklin campus in North Chicago. Students are matched with a faculty member at RFUMS and conduct research in areas such as virology, microbiology, physiology, and neuroscience.

The application deadline is January 20 and will be available on Handshake by the end of the fall quarter. Funding is for 35 hours per week over the 10-week summer term (total 350 hours; $5,530). For questions or help with your application, contact the Office of Advising and Student Services. 


 
 

Presenting and Publishing

There are several opportunities for DePaul College of Science and Health undergraduates to gain experience disseminating their research findings. Click on the options below to find out more.

The annual Undergraduate STEM Research Showcase allows CSH students to present their research to the DePaul community.

The Chicago Area Undergraduate Research Symposium (CAURS) is an annual student-coordinated research symposium that is a partnership between several Chicago area universities.

DePaul Discoveries provides a forum for sharing CSH undergraduate student original research in a peer-reviewed, open-access academic journal. Share your research with the world and learn about the review and publication process! The deadline for submission is February 1. Before preparing a manuscript, please review the online author guidelines.

The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) provides support and professional development opportunities for students, faculty, staff, and administrators. CUR’s publications and outreach activities are designed to share successful models and strategies for establishing, nurturing, and institutionalizing undergraduate research programs. CUR offers consulting, mentoring services, and program review services to individuals, academic departments, school/colleges, and entire campuses.

The DePaul University Library supports all phases of a research project, including preliminary literature searches, developing research questions and hypotheses, guiding search methodologies, managing and sharing citations, and identifying journals for publication. The library also offers the following:

  • Assigned librarians for ongoing support to researchers on an individual, pair, or group basis, program presentations, or workshops.
  • Subject and activity-focused Research Guides that provide convenient access to online databases, background information sources, research tips and more.
  • Research guidance and assistance (live chat, texting, email, video tutorials, Zoom).
  • Collaborative study and meeting spaces, computer workstations, printing/scanning, poster printing, and ‘green screen’ audio-visual/recording room.
  • Mechanisms for requesting library materials to support specific research needs, including I-Share book requests, interlibrary loan, and suggestions for purchase.

 
 

Course Based Undergraduate Research Experiences

CUREs are projects that engage whole classes of students in a hands-on investigation of a problem of interest.

Learn about CUREs

Research Opportunities

Click on any of the sections below to explore research opportunities for undergraduate students. Contact the Office of Advising and Student Services for assistance with finding and applying for research experiences.

Located within DePaul’s Career Center, Handshake is DePaul’s online hub for job and internship listings, career fair and event registration, mentor connections and more. Many external research jobs and internships are also located in Handshake. Login to Handshake with your Campus Connect username and password.

The Illinois Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) is a consortium of more than 15 Illinois community colleges, universities, and research institutions collaborating to provide programs to improve the quality of science, mathematics, engineering and technology education (STEM) for underrepresented minority students.

The McNair Scholars Program prepares selected undergraduate students from low-income, first-generation college families, and/or members of underrepresented groups, for future doctoral study and faculty careers. Students engage in undergraduate research and receive mentoring, intensive advising, and assistance with the graduate school admission process. Similarly, the Arnold Mitchem Fellows Program prepares first-generation, low-income and underrepresented sophomores to attend graduate school and pursue a research career.