Aresty Research Center

Research is the process of creating new knowledge among a community of learners that includes undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, and community members. Research begins with a question. Why? How? To answer these questions, students pursue interests in fields as varied as domestic violence, microbiology, health economics, and French literature. They find themselves in museums, archives, galleries, laboratories, and businesses in New Brunswick and around the world.

Research is an opportunity to learn about the theories, tools, resources, and ethical issues that scholars and professionals encounter on a daily basis. You'll learn how to formulate questions, design plans to find answers, collect and analyze data, draw conclusions from that data, and share your findings with a community. Doing research will also make you an informed consumer of the research that you encounter on a daily basis: you'll be able to evaluate the information presented to you as a citizen of our complex society, and make informed decisions about all kinds of public policy issues that affect your everyday life. And finally, research prepares you for the world beyond Rutgers by honing your independent thinking and creativity, time-management and budget skills, and confidence in your academic and career goals.

Research begins with a question. If you are interested in conducting research as an undergraduate, you have already taken the first step by attending Rutgers. Engaging undergraduates in the discovery of knowledge is at the very heart of the Rutgers mission. Whether through taking a research-intensive course, working in one of the University's many centers or institutes, or teaming up with a favorite professor to pursue a mutual academic interest, the opportunities to become involved in research abound for students of all majors.

There are essentially two paths to research projects: applying to formal programs like the Aresty Programs, or by approaching a faculty member directly (this works best if you're a junior or senior or if you've missed the regular Aresty application processes).

If you are a first year or sophomore student who has never conducted research, start by taking a research-intensive course or helping a faculty member with his or her research. You should talk with your favorite professors about their research interests (many of these are listed on departmental websites), and about how to get involved.

Students in the liberal arts, business, economics, and social sciences often go to the library to find recent journal articles on a particular subject, photocopy them, and read and summarize them with your own comments. You may also collect, enter, and analyze data, conduct interviews or observations, recruit subjects, work on web sites, transcribe audio, organize a conference, edit written work, or catalog information. In addition to these tasks, students in the sciences may also do experiments to confirm results, build equipment, do laboratory maintenance, prepare samples or perform assays, maintain a culture in vitro, or collect and analyze samples.

The best way to choose a mentor for your research is by investigating the professors you might be interested in working with through the departmental websites, or by perusing some past projects from the Aresty Research Assistant Program or Aresty Summer Science Program or by seeing some of our Participating Faculty. Some mentors may want assistance with a project they are already working on; others may be interested in helping you to develop your own project. Read your prospective mentor’s current articles or publications, visit their website, and be prepared to meet with them and articulate your goals. Your project idea doesn't need to be perfect at your first meeting; good research always evolves. Learn more about finding a faculty mentor here.

Begin by thinking about:

• People with whom you would like to work. Are there faculty (or research staff) whom you particularly respected or enjoyed learning from? Do you have friends who are doing research and who speak highly of their advisors?
• Topics that are of interest to you. Think back over classes you have taken. Which were most enjoyable? Which did you find yourself enjoying working on, and spending extra time on? Which left you wanting to learn more?
• Are you eligible for one of our structured programs? Find out and apply here. [link to programs]
• Search for  a research opportunity that interests you in our Undergraduate Research System (URS).

Embarking on your own independent research project involves advance planning. With your faculty mentor, decide what books and articles will be important to review, how many hours a week you should plan to invest in your project, and whether you will be working alone or with a group. Contact us to find out about getting funding, participating in skill-building workshops, or getting your questions answered.

Yes, research is for undergraduates! By participating in the research process, you will find that your education will come alive. You will learn how the knowledge we currently have was generated, and how answers may be found. And most importantly, you'll learn that there are many questions still to be asked and solutions to be discovered that will improve our understanding of the world and the quality of life for all of its citizens. Everyone from first year students through seniors is qualified to ask these kinds of questions: research is a process of discovery for all of us! The only prerequisite is the desire to ask questions!

Sometimes you'll ask your first questions in the classroom, sometimes you'll ask those questions in office hours, and sometimes those questions will come to you in the middle of the night. Answering those questions might entail working with a professor (sometimes even with a faculty member and a team of your peers) on a project that is already underway, gaining an appreciation for active inquiry and analysis and getting your feet wet in the research process; in many cases, those first experiences compel students to go on to design and conduct a creative project of their own devising in close consultation with faculty mentors.

First-year students may apply for the Summer Science Program. Applications open February 11, 2013 and are due by March 11, 2013. The program runs for twelve weeks between May and August each year.

All undergraduate students may apply for the Research Assistant Program. Applications open March 13, 2013 and are due by April 8, 2013. The program runs from September to May each year.

No. The Aresty Research Center for Undergraduates is for Rutgers-New Brunswick undergraduate students only.

Because we provide financial support for participants in our programs in the form of stipends, we do not provide academic credit. Credit for research can be arranged independent of the Aresty programs with a faculty mentor and related department.

Yes, our programs are competitive. For our Summer Science Program, we receive approximately 200 applicants for 20 research opportunities. For our Research Assistant Program, we typically receive about 500 applicants for approximately 120 RA positions.

While there is no minimum GPA required, students must be in good academic standing and demonstrate a genuine interest in becoming involved in research. No previous research experience is necessary.

Freshman may apply for the Summer Science Program. Applications open February 11, 2013 and are due by March 11, 2013. The program runs for twelve weeks between May and August each year.

With so many fascinating opportunities to choose from, we understand that it is difficult to choose just one. You may apply to a maximum of two projects; please submit a completely separate application for each.

Students are provided with a $3,000 stipend and housing for the twelve week program. Click here to learn more about the program.

Students who apply to the Summer Science Program may only apply to the Research Assistant Program if they are not selected for the Summer Science Program.

All undergraduate students may apply for the Research Assistant Program. Applications open March 13, 2013 and are due by April 8, 2013. The program runs from September to May each year.

Students are provided with a $1,000 stipend for the academic year. Click here to learn more about the program.

Students may only participate in the Aresty Research Assistant Program once.

Yes, seniors are eligible to apply for our RA program.

With so many fascinating opportunities to choose from, we understand that it is difficult to choose just one. You may apply to a maximum of two projects; please submit a completely separate application for each.

All undergraduate students doing an independent research project under the guidance of a Rutgers faculty member may apply for an Undergraduate Research Fellowship. For more information and to learn how to apply click here.

We invite students to submit proposals for funding to help defray the cost of research including books, photocopying costs, supplies, travel, and presentations at conferences. Funding cannot be used for meals, living expenses, tuition, or equipment that will be used beyond the duration of the research project. In general, we do not fully fund student research projects; we encourage students to seek funding from multiple sources.

All Fellowship or Conference Funding recipients must submit receipts for all award money spent at the end of their project, and no later than the end of the spring semester. The money spent must align with the budget that was submitted with the application. Any funds not spent from the award must also be returned at this time. Additionally, funding recipients are required to present their research at the annual Undergraduate Research Symposium.

All Rutgers undergraduate students are eligible to submit an abstract for consideration for the annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. Participants in the Aresty Research Assistant Program, as well as recipients of funding through the Small Grants Program, are required to present.

Visit our Symposium page and follow the directions to submit your abstract. Abstracts are due on March 1.

We offer workshops on various topics including selecting a research project, finding a faculty mentor, writing an abstract, how to develop an effective poster for presenting your research, and many other topics related to undergraduate research. These workshops are open to all Rutgers-New Brunswick undergraduate students. Click here to learn more.