Undergraduate Research

One of the benefits of attending a Research I institution is all of the opportunities for students to participate in undergraduate research. Most professors on campus are also involved in research, so it’s not difficult to find a faculty member doing research in your area of interest, and most are happy to talk to you about getting involved in their work. I encourage you to talk to your advisor and past professors if you are interested in their subject matter. Also, don’t forget about the NC State undergraduate research website: http://www.ncsu.edu/undergrad-research/. The people in the undergraduate research office are really helpful. They can talk to you about getting grants to fund your research, information about research symposiums, and how to get started with your research.
Posted by: Lauren Hysong

When applying to NC State, I never realized how many opportunities are available for students to be involved in undergraduate research. I began working in an on-campus poultry genomics lab my freshman year, and while the lab experience was definitely invaluable, what I truly benefited from was the networking I developed. I continued working in the lab every semester, as well as full time through the summer after my freshman year, and the experience led to two awesome, animal-related summer internships, a trip to Brisbane, Australia to present my research at a conference, and numerous undergraduate research awards and class credit. The great part is that most professors at NC State have one (or multiple) on-going research projects, and can always use undergraduates to help them. So often times, finding a lab to work in can be as simple as approaching your professor! We also have an Office of Undergraduate Research, where the staff can help you with everything from finding summer internship to applying for research scholarships, or even graduate school.
Posted by: Tria Metzler