The Undergraduate Research Showcase, as part of Undergraduate Research Week, is UCLA’s response to hosting its annual Research Poster Day and other URW events during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Research Poster Day and Undergraduate Research Week are only the latest in large-scale celebrations of UCLA’s ever strengthening commitment to supporting undergraduate research. What started off as a handful of science posters in 1996, later complemented with a separate poster event for humanities and social sciences, has since grown into the single campus-wide event, Research Poster Day, now hosting over 1,000 student presenters of all majors and enjoyed for the past 4 years in our sports arena.
At the same time, Undergraduate Research Week has also evolved. Recognizing the need for an entire week to bring together the growing number of research-promoting events from across the entire campus, URW was formally created in 2015. In addition to RPD, UCLA’s URW promotes oral presentations, departmental poster sessions, and even dance performances.
This year, joining the Research Poster Day presenters in the Undergraduate Research Showcase, are the faculty nominated students from the Humanities Oral Presentations (usually its own event), and UCLA’s new Multimedia Salon featuring a wide range of creative projects. We know you will enjoy learning what our talented Bruins have been doing. Be sure to check in with us each year to continue watching our events grow!
How does Undergraduate Research Week come together each year?
Since 1998, UCLA has been unique amongst universities in boasting two Undergraduate Research Centers. The URCs not only spearhead the organization of URW and lead the planning of its major events, they support the students and faculty on campus who engage each other over research projects.
Between the services of the URC-HASS who cover the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences and the URC-Sciences who cover all STEM fields, students of all disciplines are given the support they need. The URCs are able to offer students course credit in exchange for doing research, professional development to help them succeed in research careers, and research scholarships. They also help students seek out research opportunities and get started with their best foot forward.
Many of the students you will see in the Undergraduate Research Showcase have been supported by generous private donations. These donations allow students to devote more of their time to research than to working another job to make ends meet. They also reward students for their hard work. Students who have participated in undergraduate research programs through both the URCs have entered graduate programs at prestigious institutions and have gone on to become innovative researchers, faculty, and medical professionals.
If you are interested in making a donation to support undergraduate research, please visit our Spark Campaign for more details.
Are you a student who is interested in doing research?
