Research for credit
Enroll in a 390 Directed Research course in your department. Your mentor sets goals with you and grades your progress.
Undergraduate Research
Undergraduate Research
Your questions belong in the lab, the archive and the field
Big ideas. Brighter days.
At Tumbleberry, research is not saved for graduate school. First-year Bears join faculty teams in chemistry labs, river surveys, design studios and community health projects. You do real work, you get credit or pay for it, and you present what you find.
Research by the numbers
2025–26 academic year
- 1,140Student researchersUndergraduates working on a mentored project this year.
- 212Faculty mentorsFaculty in all four colleges who take on undergraduate researchers.
- $486KStudent awardsPaid to students through fellowships, travel and supply grants.
- 1 in 2SeniorsGraduating seniors who completed a research or creative project.
Getting Started
Five steps to your first research project
No experience needed
Most students start with no lab experience at all. Faculty expect to teach you. What they look for is curiosity and steady attendance.
- Explore the work happening nowBrowse active faculty labs and projects by college and topic, and note two or three that excite you.
- Come to a Research Open HouseHeld the second Wednesday of each semester in Bramble Commons, 4–6 PM. Faculty bring posters and sign-up sheets.
- Email a faculty mentorIntroduce yourself in a few sentences, say what interests you about their work, and ask whether they have room this term.
- Choose how you will participateVolunteer, earn credit through a 390 research course, or apply for a paid position or fellowship.
- Share what you findPresent a poster or talk at the Berry Symposium each April, alongside hundreds of fellow Bears.
Ways to Participate
Pick the path that fits your schedule
Paid research assistant
Labs and centers hire students at $17.50 an hour, and many positions qualify for work-study.
Berry Summer Research Fellowship
Work full time with a mentor and receive a $4,500 stipend plus free summer housing in Larkspur Commons.
Field research
Spend a weekend, a summer or a full Field Semester collecting data 40 minutes up Ridgeline Highway.
Bears in the lab
I emailed Dr. Vasquez in my second month on campus, not expecting a reply. By spring I was running water samples from the Tumble River and presenting at the symposium.
My fellowship paid for a summer of interviews with rural clinic nurses. That project turned into my senior thesis and my graduate school writing sample.
I am a business major, so I did not think research was for me. Now I help the Ridgeline School of Business study how outdoor gear startups find their first customers.
Undergraduate research questions
Still wondering where to begin? The Office of Undergraduate Research in Hollis Library, room 214, holds drop-in hours Monday through Thursday, 1–4 PM.
