What is undergraduate research and creative scholarship?

High quality undergraduate research and creative scholarship include the following characteristics:

• The research and creative scholarship reflects the ways in which faculty in each respective discipline conducts research and creative scholarship;
• The research and creative scholarship project can be communicated and disseminated in the same way a faculty member can in their respective discipline;
• The research and creative scholarship project actively brings undergraduate students into the world of university research;
• The research and creative scholarship project includes a faculty mentor to help guide student project.

How Undergraduate Research Projects Begin

An undergraduate research and creative scholarship project typically falls into two categories:

1. Student Initiated: The research and creative scholarship project begins with a student generated idea. The student seeks out expertise, guidance, and support from a faculty mentor who does research in the field(s) related to the project. 
   • Common examples: honors thesis project, independent study course, course requirement
2. Faculty Initiated: The research and creative scholarship project is part of a faculty member’s ongoing research.  A student joins the faculty member, or research team, to assist in the research project. 
   • Common example: research assistantship positions (paid, volunteer, or for credit); student joins research group

While this does provide a nice frame of reference and gives you a general idea of how students may participate in research and creative scholarship, there are many different models of undergraduate research (scroll to "Models of Undergraduate Research). 

Next we explore the types of research and creative scholarship that take place in the UO’s colleges/schools.

Next – Research and Creative Scholarship in the Disciplines