Connect with the OUR

OUR Relaunch

The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) relaunched in Fall 2022 under the auspices of the Arts & Sciences Strategic Plan, which emphasizes undergraduate students’ access to high-impact experiential learning opportunities. The OUR is currently collaborating with campus partners to establish a new vision, mission, and aims for supporting undergraduate research and inquiry across all WashU schools, departments, and programs. To learn about our accomplishments to date and aspirations for the future, explore our detailed reorganization timeline.

Timeline

AY22-23

The new OUR team, including an inaugural faculty director and two full-time staff, came onboard in December 2022. Their first term was spent maintaining operations, conducting an informal campus listening tour, and performing external benchmarking.

AY23-24

During its first full academic year, the relaunched OUR is piloting program changes and establishing faculty and student advisory bodies to inform its new vision, mission, and aims.

AY24-25

In the next academic year, the OUR will begin operationalizing its new vision, mission, and aims and establish a community of practice for staff and faculty who facilitate undergraduate research programs.

Contact Us

The OUR team provides dedicated support to all WashU undergraduate researchers and their faculty mentors, and there are many ways to connect with us!

Online Resources

If you are just starting to explore the possibility of undergraduate research, you may find the following OUR webpages helpful:

Drop-In to Chat with a Research Ambassador

Need advice on finding a research mentor or applying for a research program? Chat with our inaugural cohort of WashU Research Ambassadors, or WRAPers! WRAPers are experienced undergraduate researchers across all disciplines (humanities, social sciences, STEM) committed to supporting their peers’ research journeys through drop-in advising and programming. Visit the WRAP webpage to meet your WRAPers and find their upcoming drop-in office hours, including over winter break. 

Make an Appointment

If you have specific questions about undergraduate research, or if you’d like to discuss the general strategy of how and when to get involved, make an appointment with OUR staff using the calendar links below:

  • Calendar for Diana Silva José-Edwards, OUR Assistant Director
  • Calendar for Angela Fink, OUR Program Manager

Finally, you can always email undergradresearch@wustl.edu to speak with a member of our team.
 

Meet the OUR

Detailed OUR Reorganization Timeline

Updated September 2023. All activities and opportunities are subject to change.

AY22-23

  • Conducted an informal "listening tour" to understand student, faculty, and departmental needs to sustain and increase capacity for faculty-mentored undergraduate research
  • Held the first in-person Undergraduate Research Symposium since the pandemic, featuring 225+ undergraduate research presentations
  • Supported 131 summer undergraduate researchers via stipends, ethics training, lightning talks, and other programming
  • Conducted external benchmarking of offices of undergraduate research across institution types

AY23-24

  • Revamped the Academic Year Undergraduate Research Award (AYURA), increasing application transparency and expanding the program to include capstone experiences not only in the Social Sciences and Humanities, but also in the Arts
  • Preparing for the Fall 2023 Undergraduate Research Symposium on October 27 and the Spring 2024 Undergraduate Research Symposium
  • Inaugurating the WashU Research Ambassador Program (WRAP) to provide peer mentorship about undergraduate research across disciplines
  • Piloting new student resources (e.g., a Summer Research Fair to be held in December 2023) and faculty programming (e.g., evidence-based mentor training for a small cohort of faculty mentors)
  • Establishing an Undergraduate Research Advisory Committee with faculty representatives from Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, and STEM disciplines to inform the OUR's new vision, mission, and aims

AY24-25

  • Begin operationalizing the OUR's new vision, mission, and aims through iterative development, assessment, and refinement of student- and faculty-facing OUR resources
  • Engage with faculty on the Undergraduate Research Advisory Committee each semester
  • Establish a community of practice for staff and faculty who manage undergraduate research programs and facilitate undergraduate learning through research and other high-impact experiences