Mission

The Office of Undergraduate Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity (URSCA) provides support and mentorship for students interested in or currently pursuing research in all areas of the arts and sciences. Our mission is to promote both equity and excellence in undergraduate research.

We strive to ensure equitable access to research experiences by engaging in broad outreach, providing comprehensive online resources, leading workshops and info sessions, holding regular drop-in hours, and enlisting peer leaders to help demystify research, close opportunity gaps, and empower all students to pursue research at Hopkins.

We strive to ensure academic rigor in research experiences by building structured grant and fellowship programs that uphold standards aligned with curricular outcomes and that train students to manage an independent project, collaborate with experts, steward funds responsibly, communicate their research effectively, translate their research and grant management skills for other opportunities, and reflect on their personal and intellectual growth through their research experience.

Overview of programs

The primary programs overseen by the URSCA office are undergraduate research grants and fellowships; summer programs for visiting undergraduate researchers; conferences and symposia including our signature Richard Macksey National Undergraduate Humanities Research Symposium; and the Johns Hopkins University chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. In addition to running these programs, we are engaged in general efforts to foster a culture of undergraduate research at Johns Hopkins, to bolster and expand curricular and co-curricular research opportunities, and to build connections with both internal and external partners.

Research Grants for Krieger School Undergraduates

URSCA oversees the University Undergraduate Research Fellowship (formerly the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship), the Dean’s ASPIRE Grants, and many other research awards for KSAS undergraduates. We provide resources and training to prepare students to develop research proposals and apply for funding, and then we work with a team of JHU faculty members to evaluate applications and award funding. We then provide oversight of funded projects throughout the award period and lead students through a scaffolded process that builds toward their final research paper or project, and their presentation at our annual Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Research Symposium and at national conferences.  

Richard Macksey National Undergraduate Humanities Research Symposium

URSCA is proud to host the annual Macksey Symposium, which invites undergraduate students from across the country to present their original humanities research at Johns Hopkins. Named for Richard Macksey, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Comparative Thought and Literature, the symposium celebrates the history of Johns Hopkins University as a hub of humanities research and innovation. URSCA also publishes a peer-reviewed journal of proceedings, the Macksey Journal. 

Summer Research Experiences for Visiting Undergraduates

Johns Hopkins University hosts a variety of residential summer research programs designed to give students visiting from other institutions access to our world-class labs, libraries, faculty, and staff. In each program, students come to JHU to take part in rigorous 10-week research projects. The programs are funded and administered in conjunction with several other organizations, including the National Science Foundation, the Amgen Scholars Program, and the Leadership Alliance. URSCA provides oversight and logistical support for all these programs, and organizes the annual Hopkins Summer Research Symposium at the conclusion of the summer.