Research Opportunities

Penn State offers many opportunities for undergraduate students to participate in research and creative endeavors. Working with faculty mentors, undergraduates engage in active learning in the laboratory, library, studio, and field. Through these experiences, students share in the excitement of discovery, develop important skills, and explore career choices. They get to know faculty members and connect with a disciplinary community. Many publish, perform, exhibit, or present their work, sharing it with audiences beyond Penn State.

Building Engineering—Seminal Undergraduate Research Experience (BE—SURE)

The BE—SURE program partners undergraduate architectural engineering (AE) students and students majoring in other building-related disciplines with AE faculty members to increase the students' educational, research, and professional opportunities. The year-long program runs during the fall, spring, and summer semesters but, shorter appointments are allowed if needed by the student. BE—SURE works to expand research opportunities for undergraduates and provides a research "on-ramp" for students to learn more about the research process, science communication, and post-graduate research opportunities. Students involved with BE—SURE receive weekly communication from faculty highlighting details for graduate fellowship opportunities, professional development opportunities, research experiences for undergraduates at other institutions, and scholarships for undergraduate research. Additionally, faculty work to engage the students with programs provided by Penn State University Libraries, the Writing Center @ Penn State Learning, and Penn State Undergraduate Research and Fellowships Mentoring. At the end of each semester, students participate in a poster session to showcase what they learned and accomplished that semester. The poster session also provides students not enrolled in BE—SURE with the opportunity to learn more about the program and see what research could be like for them.

Undergraduate students interested in participating may apply here. 

Faculty interested in participating may apply here. 

In addition to the existing paid experiences, BE—SURE faculty are currently working to expand the program to include for-credit opportunities. Faculty are also working to expand the program to provide graduate students with mentoring opportunities.

Additional Opportunities

To learn more about other research opportunities, please visit the research opportunities page on the Office of Undergraduate Education site here.