Undergraduate Research and Independent Projects

Explore Departmental Funding

Undergraduate Research in Stanford Departments, Programs, and Research Centers

Many Stanford departments and programs sponsor an undergraduate research program that provides financial support for students to work with Stanford professors on faculty-designed research projects.  Programs generally take place over the summer, but many support research during the regular academic year as well. 

For any Departmental Program, students must apply directly to departments and programs, rather than through the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (VPUE).  For summer programs, deadlines are often in the Winter Quarter.  Program deadlines and specifics are available at the links below or via contacting the department or program directly.

Can't find a relevant department listed below? Reach out to the Student Services Officers in your department of interest to learn about ongoing research.

22-23 Programs funded by VPUE

Department/Program/Research Center Contact
Aeronautics & Astronautics Jenny Scholes
American Studies An Truong Nguyen
Anesthesiology - Division of Pain Medicine Corinne Jung
Anesthesiology - Perioperative & Pain Medicine Amy Wear
Archaeology Center Maria Guillen
Bill Lane Center for the American West Surabhi Balachander
Bio-X biox_undergrads@stanford.edu
Bioengineering Gracey Hessinger
Bioengineering - International Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM)  igem_2021@lists.stanford.edu
Biology - 
Biology Summer Undergraduate Research Program (B-SURP)		 Teri Hankes
Canary Center at Stanford for Cancer Early Detection canarycrest@stanford.edu
Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (CCSRE) Annie Bushnell
Center on Early Childhood  earlychildhood@stanford.edu
Center for Education Policy Analysis (CEPA) Francis Pearman
Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC)  Andrea Gray
Center for Spatial and Textual Analysis (CESTA) cesta_stanford@stanford.edu
Center of Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) Kristen Chandler
Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (PACS)  Anh Le
Center on Poverty and Inequality (CPI) inequality@stanford.edu
Chemical Engineering Andrew LeMat
Chemistry LTO@stanford.edu
Civil and Environmental Engineering Tiffany Branum
Clayman Institute for Gender Research Theresa Rosinger-Zifko
Communication - Virtual Human Interaction Lab (VHIL) Brian Beams
Computer Science - Computer Undergrad Research Internships Science (CURIS) Yesenia Gallegos
Developmental Biology Alistair Boettiger
Doerr School of Sustainability Jenny Saltzman
Economics Joanne DeMarchena
Electrical Engineering reu@ee.stanford.edu
Engineering Physics Chaya Nanavati
English - Literary Lab Elaine Treharne
Haas Center for Public Service Luke Terra
History Kai Dowding
Human Biology Katherine Preston
Humanities Center Jenny Martinez
Institute for Diversity in the Arts (IDA) A-lan Holt
Institute for Research in the Social Sciences Sasa Caval
King Center on Global Development Corinne Thomas
Linguistics Lisa Woodcock
Management Science and Engineering Lori Cottle
Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute Tenisha Hart Armstrong
Materials Science and Engineering Anjani Varma
Maternal and Child Health Research Institute - Diversity, Respect, and Inclusion are Vital for Excellence (DRIVE) Rachael Panizzo
Mathematics - Stanford Undergraduate Research Institute in Mathematics (SURIM) surim_program@stanford.edu
Mathematics & Computational Science (Statistics) Amanda Kuhn
Mechanical Engineering Erin Krynen
Philosophy Nadeem J.Z. Hussain
Physics Elva Carbajal
Political Science and International Relations - Summer Research College Natalie Badalov
Precourt Institute for Energy - Summer Undergraduate Program on Energy Research (SUPER) Sarah Weaver
Psychology Andrea Sims
Public Policy Grete Howland 
Radiology - Canary Cancer Research Education Summer Training Program (CREST) canarycrest@stanford.edu
Radiology - Radiological Sciences Laboratory (RSL) Barbara Bonini
Sociology Sonia Chan
Symbolic Systems sso-symsys@stanford.edu
Theater & Performance Studies (TAPS) Rush Rehm
Urban Studies Michael Kahan
VMWare Women's Leadership Innovation Lab Melissa Abad
Woods Institute for the Environment - Mentoring Undergraduates in Interdisciplinary Research (MUIR) Brian Sharbono

Need help with your independent project?

All students should schedule a meeting with their Undergraduate Advising Director (UAD) as they write their proposal. UADs are well-versed with all VPUE Undergraduate Research grants.