Undergraduate Study

Undergraduate Research Opportunities

Research experience is an integral part of advanced undergraduate education, especially for students planning to enter graduate school. As a McCormick student, you have the opportunity to participate in the kind of unique and forward-looking research that defines Northwestern University and facilitates your development as a whole-brain™ engineer.

Collaborative Research Networks

Collaboration across departments and disciplines is a key component of the research done at Northwestern. As we strive to solve society’s most challenging problems, we will need groundbreaking solutions drawn from many different fields. Undergraduates at McCormick have the opportunity to work with faculty and researchers from a wide variety of fields. You’ll join the dynamic, interdisciplinary research networks created by Northwestern’s researchers.

Advantages of Undergraduate Research

Becoming involved in research while you are an undergraduate has many advantages:

• It enables you to put into practice what you have learned in the classroom
• It complements upper-level coursework
• It teaches you how to critically read a journal article
• It allows you to become deeply engaged in a problem of current interest in your field and work on it over an extended time
• It gives you an opportunity for independent learning and creativity
• It provides you with more experience with scientific writing
• It generally gives a significant advantage when applying to graduate school or industry, especially if you have generated a publication

How to get started on your undergraduate research

Resources and Opportunities

As a McCormick undergraduate interested in research, you have a wide range of resources and opportunities available to you.

Corporate Sponsored Research

Through the McCormick Office of Corporate Relations, students can participate in corporate-sponsored research during the year. Contact MOCR for more information.

Northwestern Research Opportunities

Northwestern’s Office of Undergraduate Research offers students numerous opportunities to fund their research through grants. Funding is available for the academic year, summer projects, and conference travel.

Northwestern ARCH Portal

This portal provides an array of resources for students interested in conducting research, including a searchable database of available research opportunities posted by faculty in all departments and a database of research being done by current students.

Summer Research Programs

McCormick students have access to a variety of summer research opportunities that include Northwestern programs, non-Northwestern programs, and international summer research programs abroad.

In addition, McCormick provides a competitive Summer Research Award to a select group of students each year.

Peer Advising in Research

To help you better understand the realities and goals of various research groups, this program connects you with current undergraduate researchers in your department.

Research Grants for Undergraduates

Winning a grant is a great way to help fund your research during the summer and the school year. In addition, it is a great honor that testifies to the undergraduate's knowledge, creativity, and determination.