What UROP is about, and where it is offered
The intent of the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme (UROP) is to formally involve undergraduate students in research activities under the supervision of faculty members in their respective fields of study. UROP aims to enhance undergraduate students’ knowledge of, and acquire the skills required for, the intellectual process of inquiry. Undergraduate students who are enrolled in UROP are awarded units for their work on their research projects. UROP is offered in the Colleges, Faculties and Schools found in the table below. Details for course registration and assessment can be found in their respective UROP pages.
UROP students pursuing research projects with a Southeast Asia focus can apply for the Undergraduate Research Library Fellowship.
| Episode 1: In Conversation with Dr Feng Qiushi (Part 1) |
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Episode 1: In Conversation with Dr Feng Qiushi (Part 2)
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Episode 2 : In Conversation with Nicole and Fayyaz (Part 1)
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Episode 2 : In Conversation with Nicole and Fayyaz (Part 2)
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Episode 2 : In Conversation with Nicole and Fayyaz (Part 3)
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- What is the FASS UROP application process like?
[a] Dean’s sends out call for UROP via departments around mid-October for Semester 2 registration and around mid-April for Semester 1 registration
[b] Interested departments submits proposal to DO for approval via department admins. Projects must have already been deemed relevant and approved by the department to be able to count towards the respective major’s requirements before submission to DO.
[c] UROP topics will be posted on the student portal after review by Assistant Dean
[d] Student submits application form to course host department
[e] Students who have been selected by the course host department will be pre-allocated the UROP course
Note: All completed assignments should be submitted to the supervisors by Week 12 of the semester.
- Can I initiate a UROP project if I am an undergraduate student?
UROP comprises existing projects that are led by academic staff (i.e. lecturers and professors) as the Principal Investigator (PI) and hence projects are NOT initiated by students.
- Can I get paid as a RA under UROP?
UROP is a 4units course and DOES NOT include research assistant appointment.
- Can RA (Research Assistant) based projects spearheaded by Profs be claimed by as a UROP?
RA based projects are different from a UROP project as UROP is read as a course and does not include paid appointment. Hence it cannot be claimed as a UROP.
- Can a non-FASS student do a FASS offered UROP?
Yes, if they have declared a 2nd major under FASS.
- Can a FASS student do a UROP that is offered by another FASS department and not their home department?
Yes, if they are counting the UROP towards their 2nd major requirements. If not, they must seek permission from their major department to count it towards their major. If the major department does not approve the UROP to be counted towards their major requirements, the students will not be able to enrol in the UROP.
- Can other existing research projects count towards UROP?
Only projects published in our UROP list (under ‘list of topics’) for the upcoming semester are eligible to be counted as UROPs under FASS
- Can UROP be counted towards UE requirements or is it only counted towards major requirements?
It is counted only towards major requirements.
- Is UROP at FASS a level 2000 course or a level 3000 course?
The UROP course is offered as a level 3000 course with the code xx3551.
- When will the UROP listings for the next semester be released?
UROP listing will be published in around mid-November for Semester 2 registration and around mid-May for Semester 1 registration.
- When do students at FASS need to submit the UROP application form by?
Students are required to submit the application forms to the course host department before Round 1 of Coursereg. For topics offered by ARI or IPS, students are required to submit their applications to their major department.
- What is the difference between UROPs, URAPs and UPIPs?
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme in Science (UROPS) is a programme that allows you to engage actively in research, discussions, intellectual communications and other creative activities. You may refer to the link HERE for more information such as timelines to view and apply for projects, where to view available projects and more.
Students may also embark on a 10 to 12-week long overseas summer research programme of 4 Units by conducting research in the world’s leading institutions during the NUS May to July break.
Undergraduate Research Attachment Programme in Science (URAPS) is a programme that provides students with opportunities to work under the mentorship of outstanding researchers and experience the challenges and benefits that come from pursuing an independent research project. It is an 8 to 10-week long research programme, without any Units. We currently only have one partner university - the University of Alberta. You can find more information regarding URAPS here.
Undergraduate Professional Internship Programme (UPIP) aims to encourage Science students to take up internships as a structured programme. You can find more information regarding UPIP here.
Depending on your major, UROPS or UPIP read may be used to fulfil the graduation requirements. Please refer to your respective department websites for details on the degree requirements.
- What is the difference between Advanced UROPS (XX3288/XX3289) and Basic UROPS (XX2288/XX2289)?
Advanced UROPS, being at level 3000, is pitched at a higher difficulty level and requires more in-depth knowledge and skills as compared to Basic UROPS, pitched at level 2000.
- Are Year 3s allowed to take Basic UROPS instead of Advanced UROPS?
Yes, you may read a Basic or Advanced UROPS as long as you meet the pre-requisites which can be found here. Do note that for certain majors, Advanced UROPS read may be used to fulfil the major or specialisation. Please refer to your respective department websites for details on the degree requirements.
- Can we map overseas exchange courses to UROPS?
Yes, you may, subject to approval from your department.
- Can special programmes courses be mapped to UROPS?
Pre-CHS cohorts who are in the USP programme may read UROPS-based ISMs and count that course towards the major requirements as well as USP requirements.
- If a UROPS project carried out in Semester 2 is extended to a special term, how many Units will a student get?
UROPS projects that start in semester 2 can only be extended to semester 1 of the following AY. Special term UROPS, which are 4 Units, will start and end within the special term period.
- Is the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) option applicable to UROPS?
S/U option is not applicable to UROPS. This is because Basic UROPS courses have NUS course(s) as pre-requisite(s) while Advanced UROPS is a Level 3000 course.
- If students decide to take UROPS during special semesters, are they required to pay tuition fees?
Yes, special term fees apply just like for other courses. Please visit the following LINK for more information.
- Can students take UROPS outside of their major?
Students typically read UROPS projects related to their major as generally discipline-specific skills and knowledge are required for the project. Students reading a second major/degree outside their primary major may read UROPS projects outside their primary major.
- Can students take UROPS outside of their faculty?
See answer to question 9.
- Will students be assessed individually or as a group?
UROPS projects are undertaken and assessed on an individual basis.
- Are there individual/group UROPS projects?
See answer to question 11.
- Are students allowed to underload in the semester they decide to take UROPS even though they are not in their graduating year?
No, students are not allowed to underload unless they are in their graduating semester.
For general queries about UROP+REx, please contact the Undergraduate Research Coordinating Team at the Office of the Provost (PVO).
Mr John Caines
Manager, Undergraduate Research
E: jlc@nus.edu.sg
DID: 6601 8109 |
Ms Losheini Ravindran
Assistant Manager, Undergraduate Research
E: loshr1@nus.edu.sg
DID: 6516 2266 |
Dr Siti Nur Fairuz Binte Sheikh Ismail
Instructor, Undergraduate Research (STEM)
E: fairuzsi@nus.edu.sg
DID: 6601 5285
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Ms Siti Fathima
Executive, Undergraduate Research
E: Sfathima@nus.edu.sg
DID: 6601 5137 |
What is REx?
REx refers to the Research Experience Programme. REx is designed to enhance the existing Undergraduate Research
Opportunities Programme (UROP) and the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme in Science (UROPS)
by:
- Deepening the experience of UROP in STEM disciplines;
- Attracting more professors and students in non-STEM disciplines to offer UROP; and
- Creating more opportunities for students to have rewarding experiences of research and research impact.
By the end of REx, students will develop the skills of conducting independent research, appreciate the needs of a research project and the preparation and execution to meet the needs, and gain confidence in presenting their findings for research impact.
Phase 1 of the REx pilot will be launched in Semester 2 of AY2022/2023 in CHS. At the first instance, REx is an optional enhancement which is applicable to UROP/UROPS courses offered by departments in FASS and FoS. Following the first phase of the pilot, REx will be expanded to other faculties. Faculty members supervising the UROP/UROPS projects will also be the students’ REx supervisors.
Students must meet the pre-requisites for undertaking the UROP/UROPS course that they choose to enhance with REx. Students can only choose to enhance a UROP/UROPS course with REx once in their undergraduate career. When students enrol in a UROP/UROPS course, they will have the option to concurrently enrol in the REx Fellow.
Important information for REx Fellows
As REx is an enhancement to existing UROP/UROPS courses, students will not earn additional units on top of the units for the UROP courses. The suffix “R” will be added to the course code, to indicate that it is a REx-enhanced UROP/UROPS course.
Interested students enrolling in a UROP course should submit a short research grant proposal to the PVO UG Research Coordinating Team for evaluation; the grant proposal form can be found below; it contains the application guidelines and terms & conditions for usage of the grant. Upon approval, REx Fellows will receive a research grant of up to $2,500 to be used to reimburse costs for the proposed research. There will be flexibility in the usage of the research grant, based on the needs of the research project. Please see below for the REx process flow.
| FASS Grant Proposal Form |
FoS Grant Proposal Form
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NUSC Grant Proposal Form
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| REx Reimbursement Form |
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Key REx components
REx Fellows are required to draft a joint or single authored working paper or poster presentation that could, in principle, lead to submission to a journal, edited book, or conference. The paper or poster could be a derivative of the UROP/UROPS project report. REx Fellows are expected to spend part of their UROP/UROPS project research workload hours (not more than 30 hours) to generate research findings to complete this task. They may be invited to present the working papers or posters at workshops or special REx seminars. Working papers or abstracts may also be invited for publication in the REx Research Connections digest, and working posters may be invited for presentation at an internal poster session or undergraduate research symposium or conference. REx Fellows may propose to present their research work in formats other than a paper or poster (e.g. photo essay, documentary film), if their supervisor approves. REx Fellows can also access dedicated research writing and presentation
consultations with faculty and student mentors at the Writing and Communication Hubs and other writing and presentation resources organized by the NUS Libraries, such as Researcher Unbound.
REx Fellows will be required to attend 3 REx seminars. Each seminar will last for 2 hours. REx Fellows will have to attend two essential seminars on (1)
Research Methodologies and (2)
Research Ethics. For the third seminar, REx Fellows can opt to attend one of the following seminars on (3a)
Research Communications, (3b)
Careers in Research, (3c)
Introduction to Visual Narratives. They can also attend all three elective seminars. Ample seminars will be organised for REx Fellows to choose from based on their timetabling needs. REx Fellows will also be required to attend two special workshops, one of which is an essential research-oriented writing skills workshop conducted by the NUS Writer’s Centre. They can choose the other from three types of workshops. Each workshop will last for 2 hours and will encourage cross-disciplinary sharing and learning. For the
Panel Discussion workshop, REx Fellows
will discuss the progress of and findings from their research projects with their peers both from within and outside their departments, as well as actively participate by asking probing questions and giving constructive comments on their peers’ projects. REx Fellows may also attend the
Poster Presentation workshop. The third workshop is on
Data Storytelling, where REx Fellows will be introduced to the power and importance of storytelling and the role of a data storyteller, as well as how to understand the needs of an audience and the essentials for a good research-oriented storytelling.
[Note: There are existing research-oriented communications courses offered by FoS which eligible REx Fellows can access to support their writing and presentation outputs: LSM3201 Research and Communications in Life Sciences; SP2271 Introduction to Scientific Literature; ENV1202 Communications for Environmental Studies.]
Upon successful completion of REx requirements, REx Fellows will be issued a REx Fellowship certificate with the title of the research project. The project title on the certificate will reflect the UROP project title, with additional notes on the research competencies and skills gained through participation in REx. The certificate can be submitted as part of applications for jobs or graduate studies. The fulfilment of REx component requirements can be declared by REx Fellows and verified by their supervisors using the REx Fellow Evaluation Form below.
| FASS REx Self Evaluation Form |
FoS REx Self Evaluation Form
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NUSC REx Self Evaluation Form
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