Research activity during the summer is an excellent way for a student researcher to make focused progress in a project. There are many such opportunities across campus, and students are encouraged to talk to faculty members to devise a new project, or continue one begun during the academic year.

In Summer 2012, we are supporting assistantships for students to pursue their research interests with the flexibility of full or part time work. Guidelines for summer, as well as academic year, research can be found here.

Please note that, for those students seeking full-time assistantships, a 2 page proposal should be submitted with the normal URA forms. Submissions are recommended prior to April 20th. Further information of particular use for faculty mentors to set up summer assistantships can be obtained here.

URA Overview

SMU faculty engage in a wide array of research projects at the frontier of knowledge. Engaging in this research is one way that undergraduates may enrich their experience and extend their knowledge. The Undergraduate Research Assistantship (URA) program at SMU provides an opportunity to students to pursue research across all disciplines. By providing matching funds to a department's existing research funding, this program facilitates undergraduate involvement in the university's leading edge research.

Founded in 2005, URAs have grown rapidly and have supported 70 students in a dozen departments of the university during the last year. Students have achieved many successes ranging from anthropology to engineering to physics. Their work has been published in refereed journals and presented at professional meetings in respective fields. Each assistantship involves a student working closely with a faculty member. As an undergraduate, you may want to participate in existing research at many different levels, or you may want to explore new avenues of study. Any level is supported. Support for up to 10 hours of research each week is provided. In general, the research is designed to fit comfortably into a normal schedule for a full-time student, approximately 5-10 hours per week. It is also possible to extend your study into Winter or Summer breaks.

You can acquire an assistantship by first contacting the faculty member you want to work with. Sometimes you may know they have an interesting project and you want to get involved. In other cases, you may already know a new trajectory you want to pursue. Discuss with your faculty member what level and topic of research you will pursue. Once a project is defined, the faculty member obtains funds from the University to match their research funding. More details are here.

For further information, contact Professor Robert Kehoe.