Experiential Learning Track
Undergraduate Research (UROP)
Collaborate with MIT faculty on cutting-edge research through the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP).
UROP lets you develop research skills within specific disciplines, form long-term connections with faculty, enhance presentation skills, and have “real-world” experiences that help inform your choice of graduate study or career.
Through UROP, students join established research projects in every MIT academic department as well as interdisciplinary labs and centers, or pursue their own ideas. Projects may be conducted for pay or academic credit and take place across the academic year and summer. Students are invited to participate at any point in their undergraduate careers.
UROP is hugely popular, with 92% of undergraduates participating and more than half of our faculty members active as UROP mentors.
Need guidance in navigating the “road to UROP?”
UROP Office Staff are here to help!
Find Your ELO
The best place to start your search for a UROP is ELx . Select “Undergraduate Research (UROP)” under “Type” to see all the UROP listings.
While many faculty, labs, and other research groups post UROP opportunities on ELx, not all do. Some projects require direct outreach (“cold-emailing”). Don’t worry! MIT professors expect students to ask about UROPs, and we’ve got you covered with plenty of advice about how to approach faculty members about possible opportunities.
UROP in Action
News, projects, and profiles of MIT students
Video
News
- Maria Aguiar loves everything about materials science — but has a soft spot for garnet thin films, the focus of her undergraduate research (MIT News)
- Elaine Liu calculates how renewables and EVs impact the grid (MIT News)
- Olivia Rosenstein balances cross-country competitions with research in quantum gasses and early-universe radio wave signals (MIT News)
- When she’s not analyzing data about her favorite biomolecule, Sherry Nyeo focuses on improving the undergraduate experience at MIT (MIT News)
- Fifty Years of UROP Stories (MIT Technology Review)
Web
Check out more UROP Students in the News.
