Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Research

Participating in undergraduate research allows you to work closely with a faculty mentor and graduate students, explore the idea of research and graduate studies, and get in-depth experience in a specific focus area. More than 20% of Electrical and Computer Engineering students participate in at least one research experience during their undergraduate career.

Undergraduate Research Funding Opportunities in Electrical and Computer Engineering

Students have significant opportunities to pursue paid undergraduate research activities in ECE. The vast majority of research-active faculty involve both graduate and undergraduate students on their research teams, and often have research funding available for undergraduate students, as part of their grant funding or through supplementary funding such as NSF’s Research Experience for Undergraduates program.

ECE Undergraduate Research Fellowships

In addition, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering supports several Undergraduate Research Fellowships. These $5,000 awards can be used for research during the academic year or during a focused 10-week research experience over the summer. To apply, students need to identify a faculty mentor and proposed research project and fill out an application form.  The deadline for Fall 2022 URF applications is Friday November 18, 2022.

For more information about the URF program or with finding a faculty mentor, see “How to Find a Faculty Mentor” below or email ukece@uky.edu with a question.

How to find a Faculty Mentor

Finding a faculty mentor is easier than you might think. One approach is to …

1. Learn about the areas of research of the ECE faculty, for example at https://www.engr.uky.edu/ece/people or https://www.engr.uky.edu/ece/research , or by talking with graduate students in the department.
2. Talk to the faculty member! That’s right, here in ECE we actually encourage our students to literally talk to faculty. You can stop by during published office hours, send them an email, or even just talk to them in the hallway. Ask them what kind of research projects they are working on and whether they have any undergraduate research opportunities.
3. Participate. Go to team meetings, identify specific tasks you can help with, do the work, analyze the results, and help present the findings.