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Undergraduate Research

Two students discuss a poster at a poster session

CSE encourages all of its undergraduate students to get involved in research. Your research experience can be challenging and rewarding in new ways, and can help you to clarify your choice of research or academic interests, to build confidence, and to prepare for graduate school or a career.

Research opportunities and how to get involved

There are a variety of research opportunities for undergraduate students at the University of Michigan. See below to learn about opportunities that CSE students can take advantage of to get involved in research:

More info about research

Learn more about research:

EECS directed study / independent research projects

When it happens: Ongoing. Students can connect with faculty on independent study projects each semester. It is important that the steps below are taken prior to the add/drop deadline each term so that the UAO can assist in getting students registered for the appropriate section of EECS 399 and 499.

Students are encouraged to contact individual EECS faculty about doing independent research in an area of mutual interest. Our Directed Study classes, EECS 399 and EECS 499, can be taken for 1-4 credits. These courses provide an opportunity for undergraduate students to work on substantial research questions in EECS. For each hour of credit, it is expected that the student will work an average of three or four hours per week and that the challenges will be comparable with other 400 level EECS classes. An oral presentation and/or written report will be due at the end of the term.

Please note:

  • If a student is approved for an EECS research project after the drop/add deadline, they can submit a late add request in Wolverine Access to get added to the appropriate section of EECS 399 or 499.
  • Students can only enroll in one section of EECS 399 or EECS 499 per term.
  • CS-LSA Honors students cannot enroll in EECS 443 and EECS 499 in the same term.
  • CSE students can do an independent study (EECS 399/499) with faculty outside of EECS if they also find an EECS (CSE or ECE) professor to be a co-director.

How to sign up for directed study / independent research:

  1. Locate a research opportunity by contacting EECS faculty members to identify upcoming research openings. Please see this spreadsheet with a current list of projects or see the bottom of this page for tips on identifying research areas and connecting with faculty. Note the column M indicates the semester in which the faculty member intends to offer the research project.
  2. Once connected on a specific project, work with your faculty mentor to determine the following:
    • Brief description of your project
    • How will you be evaluated?
    • Will materials from other classes you have taken be used in the project?
    • How often will you meet with your faculty mentor?
    • How will the completion of your project be determined?
  3. Fill out and submit the EECS independent research form.
  4. Your faculty mentor must approve your submission before you can enroll in EECS 399 or EECS 499.
  5. Once approved by your faculty mentor, the CSE Undergraduate Advising Office will provide an override to help you get enrolled in the appropriate section of either EECS 399 or 499 for the semester.
  6. Faculty independent study section numbers

Questions? Contact the CSE Undergraduate Advising Office at [email protected].

Honors Programs

When it happens: Students can pursue various honors programs throughout the academic year. Explore specific program pages for details on timing (CS-LSA Honors, Engineering Honors).

Honors program opportunities exist for undergraduate students enrolled through both the College of LSA and the College of Engineering. In LSA, distinct honors programs exist for Computer Science and for Data Science. In Engineering, the Engineering Honors Capstone Experience is offered. All include are student-driven independent research projects for Capstone course credit.  Students are responsible for finding a faculty mentor and project, and the LSA honors thesis has a minimum GPA requirement. There is some variation in the requirements for these  individual programs. For instance, the Engineering Honors Capstone Experience requires a poster presentation, the data science honors thesis has a written report that is evaluated by statistics faculty, and the computer science honors thesis requires both a public oral presentation and written report evaluation by a thesis advisor and second reader.

Questions? Contact the CSE Undergraduate Advising Office at [email protected].

EECS 498: Machine Learning Research Experience

When it happens: This course is offered each year during the Fall term.

The Machine Learning Research Experience provides a unique opportunity for students who have an interest in both research and machine learning. This course serves two groups of students:

  • Students who have a prior background in machine learning and have had some research experience (either ongoing or prior) and can benefit from the additional freedom to propose extensions of prior work and gaining experience with writing and presentation skills. 
  • Students who have some prior background in machine learning and its application areas but have no prior research experience and are excited to engage in research.

A major component of this course is a semester-long replication project. The focus in the initial 4 weeks will be to do a broad literature survey on various applications of ML, including NLP, RL, vision and fairness. After that, students will work in groups of 4-6 students to explore a paper of their choice in detail, replicating the work experimentally, theoretically or as a combination of the two. They will first submit a project proposal with these ideas. Typically, this will involve identifying a significant slice of the paper they can reasonably replicate in the remaining time, identifying datasets and resources they will need. Additionally they will propose, implement and evaluate an extension to the work (including using additional datasets, combining ideas from multiple papers etc).Throughout the semester, they will check in every other week with the course instructor on their progress. At the end of the course, they will present their work to the whole class as a poster, as a lightning talk and write up and submit a conference-style term paper (on a conference management platform) based on their work. Students will also provide peer feedback on presentations as well as the term papers.

The Machine Learning Research Experience is available in the Fall term. It is taught by Dr. Sindhu Kutty; more information is in the course flyer.

Questions? Contact faculty member Sindhu Kutty at [email protected].

Explore Computer Science Research

When it happens: Students are alerted about this program via CSE student email lists in September. The program typically starts in October/November and ends in April.

This program is intended to introduce undergraduate women and students from underrepresented minorities to research in computer science. It provides an opportunity for participants to experience and objectively assess the potential benefits of a research career. 

Students enrolled in this program undertake multiple activities:

  • Perform 6–10 hours/week of research with a mentor
  • Attend 2-3 events during the program, on topics relevant to being a researcher in computer science.
  • Have coffee/lunch with the mentor
  • Attend research seminars and meet with role models
  • Participate in the final poster presentations

Questions? Contact the faculty lead Alexander Rodríguez at [email protected].

Summer Projects for EECS Students

When it happens: Students are alerted about these projects via EECS student email lists in April and must reply fairly quickly.

Each year, Dr. Mark Brehob and ECE Assistant Director of Academic Programs Catie Lawrence compile a list of summer projects for EECS students. The list is created late in the Winter term and includes submissions from faculty across the College of Engineering. EECS students will receive an email in April that lists these opportunities and must reply fairly quickly. Students apply via a matching form; students must rank their preferred choices and provide a current resume as well as an unofficial transcript.

Faculty who are sponsoring projects will be given a list of students that are interested in their projects as well as how the students ranked the projects. Those faculty to reach out to students they are interested in interviewing.

Questions? Contact faculty lead Mark Brehob at [email protected].

Multidisciplinary Design Program (MDP)

When it happens: The MDP application opens in September and is due mid-October; projects begin in January and end in December. Summer participation is generally not required.

The Multidisciplinary Design Program at Michigan Engineering provides team-based, “learn by doing” opportunities through participation on ongoing faculty research teams. With MDP, you can: apply what you learn in class to engineering research; gain the technical and professional skills necessary to thrive in engineering research or professional settings; and experience how people from multiple disciplines collaborate within a team. In addition to skilled technical roles, teams offer Apprentice Researcher positions for first and second year students to develop their skills through mentoring by experienced members of the team. A minimum of two semesters participation (2 credits per term) is required.  Students are encouraged to participate on their team throughout their degree. Experienced MDP students have presented at research and professional conferences, participated in University patents, and co-authored publications. Experienced students have also taken on leadership roles on their teams.

Questions? Contact [email protected].

Summer Undergraduate Research in Engineering (SURE) Program

When it happens: The application typically opens after Thanksgiving, in late November or early December. It closes after winter break, in early January.

The Summer Undergraduate Research in Engineering (SURE) at Michigan Engineering offers summer research internships to outstanding undergraduate students who have completed their sophomore or junior year (preference will be given to those who have completed three years of study) by the time of their internship. Participants have the opportunity to conduct 10-12 weeks of full-time summer research with an EECS faculty member on a research project defined by the faculty. Applicants for EECS SURE projects should list on the application their top three areas of interest in preference order.

Note: CSE students may also apply for SURE projects offered through the ECE Division of EECS. To see ECE SURE projects, please visit this page.

Questions? Contact Mary Saah at [email protected].

Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP)

When it happens: Application windows vary by project type. Please consult the UROP website.

The Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) creates research partnerships between first and second year U-M students and faculty. All schools and colleges at the University of Michigan are active participants in UROP, which provides a wealth of interesting research topics for program participants. There are two different ways to engage in UROP research: either throughout the course of an academic year or through a 10-week summer research project, and with those areas there are multiple programs.

Questions? Contact urop.info@umich.edu

Tips for getting involved in research

Research is a cornerstone of academia. The pursuit of new knowledge is one of the main factors that motivates students to attend the University of Michigan. However, stepping into the world of research can feel overwhelming, especially if you’re not sure where to begin. This guide is intended to help CSE students feel empowered to take that first step and engage in research as an undergraduate student.

  • Start with what interests you. Your interests might be centered around questions, topics, or methods, and they may be specific or broad. There is no right way to start – the identification or formulation of specific scientific research questions or ideas will come later. 
  • Spend time learning about faculty research interests from their own personal and lab web sites. Most department web sites allow for keyword searches, and you can always use Google and include “University of Michigan” and a department name in the search. Remember, there is no one right way to start. The results of your initial search will help you formulate new searches.
  • Go to professors’ office hours. Ask them about their own research projects and find out what most excites them right now in their field. Ask them how they got started in research. Prepare for your meeting by making a list of questions to ask to get the most out of your interaction.
  • Attend extracurricular lectures, symposia, and speaker sessions. Going to these types of events are good ways to see what topics academics and professionals are exploring in their fields. This may even give you ideas for projects, or even people you would like to work with in the future.
  • Check out the library.  Campus libraries have incredible resources beyond books. You can set up an appointment with a librarian to learn how to search for scholarly sources, how to develop a research question, and even how to read empirical research articles. Ever heard of JSTOR, Google Scholar or Interlibrary Loan?
  • Take research methods and/or additional statistics classes. Many of these courses will give you tools you will frequently need when working in a laboratory or collecting your own data.
  • Contact professors and potential project advisors. Reaching out to faculty members for the first time can be intimidating. You may not know exactly what your own research interests are, how formal your conversation should be, or may have never even spoken to a professor one-on-one outside of class before. You can find suggestions for interacting with faculty members here.