Undergraduate Research Office CAL

The Undergraduate Research Office CAL (UROC) provides resources and supports practices that elevate CAL's position as a research-forward college, including when it comes to our bachelor's degree seekers.

Research shows that enabling research and creative activity (RCA) experiences for undergraduates:

• Enriches the student experience
• Increases student retention and graduation rates
• Supports workforce development in terms of both “soft skills” (communication, problem-solving, critical thinking, teamwork) and technical/professional skills
• Increases students' social mobility after graduation
• Enhances instructor job satisfaction and supports professional growth

Resources

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CAL

• CAL Student Success Center - offers a comprehensive range of services to support students in the College of Arts and Letters.
  • Career Counselor and Program Coordinator: Lorenzo Sianez, Jr., [email protected], Make an appointment via Handshake.
    
    
• Splice - The Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship at the College of Arts and Letters at SDSU, an anthology of peer-reviewed publications produced by undergraduate students; it is initiated, organized and directed by CAL students, for students.
  
  
• CAL Office for Research and Innovation (CORI) - provides support to faculty research efforts and in CAL.

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Campus-wide

• Division of Research & Innovation (DRI) - curated information on finding a mentor, student research funding, creating a conference presentation/poster, and more.
  
  
• SDSU Student Symposium (S3) - formerly known as the Student Research Symposium (SRS), this annual two-day spring conference showcases SDSU student discovery, innovation, and creativity.  All undergraduates are encouraged to participate.
  
  
• Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) - funds undergraduate participation in faculty-led research activities. Mentor-student matchmaking services are available for both students and faculty members.
  
  
• SDSU IRB guidance on human subjects research - includes ethics training requirements (CITI/HRPP certification) and examples of projects or activities which typically do not need IRB review (and can be folded into the classroom experience with relative ease).
  
  
• Aztec Mentor Program – students and faculty members can include ‘UROC’ in their profile information upon sign-up, and use 'UROC' for a search term, which helps CAL members easily find each other. Students and faculty who already work together also may sign up and choose each other to gain official recognition from, and perks available through, the Aztec Mentors program.

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External

• CSU Student Research Competition
  
  
• Council on Undergraduate Research
  • Undergraduate Research Week
  • Student Resources - project examples, student journal links.
  • Student Resource Center - ‘How to’ pages for giving good presentations, networking, securing mentors, finding opportunities, etc. 
  • National Conference for Undergraduate Research - a conference for both students and faculty/URP administrators.
  • Trimmer Travel Fund Award - support for student conference participation.
  • Social Sciences Undergraduate Conference Awards
    
    
• NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates program
  
  
• Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) - Resources for effective research mentoring relationships and information on how to promote cultural change that values excellence in research mentoring as a critical aspect of diversifying the research workforce. 

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For further information or connections

EJ Sobo, Ph.D.

Director of Undergraduate Research
Arts and Letters, Room 411
619-594-6591
[email protected]

Student Success Center

Arts and Letters, Room 172
619-594-6270
[email protected]

Students can also contact their major’s undergraduate adviser.