All students are encouraged to participate in research and creative work as part of their professional development at UMBC. Students engage in research to:

• Learn more about their chosen fields;
• Gain experience in the professional work of their discipline;
• Enhance their graduate school and employment prospects;
• Add to the body of knowledge in their field.
  

Every department at UMBC and many faculty members or laboratories welcome student assistants, often for course credit, in paid or unpaid roles. Many programs support student research and creative engagement.

• Students who have identified research or creative work to conduct in the upcoming academic year are invited to apply for an Undergraduate Research Award (URA) to fund their work.
• An important element in the research/creative-development experience is the presentation of results. Many discipline-specific conferences invite student papers and presentations. UMBC's on-campus conference, Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD), is open to all students to present their results.
• Student papers are published annually in the UMBC Review.
• There are many other research opportunities to explore and pursue.
• For more advice on connecting to research opportunities as UMBC, e-mail undergraduateresearch@umbc.edu.

What you can do right now

Application Guide for URA, URCAD and UMBC Review.