Don’t know where to get started on your research? The Office of Undergraduate Research has put together a guide for students for creating, funding, and finding mentors for research projects here!
Learn more about specific LUROP fellowships and their requirements here.
The only requirement for applying for a fellowship is that you are a current undergraduate student at Loyola with at least one year left. However, each fellowship contains its own requirements. Learn more about each fellowship here.
LUROP fellowships are only available to current undergraduate students at Loyola with at least one year remaining. Check out the fellowship office to find postgraduate research opportunities.
No prior research experience is required so all interested students should apply!
Yes! Students may apply to as many fellowships as they qualify for, but can only participate in one LUROP Fellowship at a time. In addition, students cannot hold no more than 3 LUROP fellowships throughout their undergraduate careers.
Students need to write their own abstract and project description. Your description should specifically address your role in that larger project.
The LUC Online Writing Lab has tips for writing abstracts and some examples here.
For fellowships, your letter of recommendation must come from the Loyola professor who will be your mentor on the project.
For the programs that match you with a mentor (CURL, CCIH, Molecular & Computational Bio, RMP, WISER), there are circumstances in which the letter can be from a non-Loyola source who can attest to your abilities.
The level of competition varies depending on which LUROP fellowships you are applying for. Last year, about 50% of applications were awarded a LUROP fellowship.
Some programs match students up with mentors (CURL, CCIH, RMP, WISER). For the other LUROP programs, you are encouraged to find a mentor through department websites and taking classes with research professors. Learn more on our finding a mentor page.
There is no right or wrong way, as long as you have a mentor and a research project with a question, methodology, and outcome that you’d like to produce.
Some students find mentors by joining ongoing research projects or participating in research labs. Others will collaborate with mentors to develop new projects of their own.
Undergraduate research projects typically require 5 to 10 hours of work per week.
What that work will entail and where it will occur depends on the research project and the mentor. Be sure to talk with your mentor (or your LUROP Fellowship program director) about what they may require.
Yes! There are many research courses offered at Loyola that can get you credit in conjunction with your LUROP-supported research. The course will also fulfill your engaged learning requirement.
The EXPL 391 course offered by the Center for Engaged Learning, Teaching and Scholarship (CELTS) is an interdisciplinary research methods course for students who work in labs or conduct independent research. Students are able to receive academic credit for their research, as well as fulfill the engaged learning requirement.
