The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)
Established in 2008, the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program – better known as UROP – constitutes RWTH Aachen’s flagship research program for undergraduate students. UROP allows students enrolled at RWTH or one of our North American partner universities to develop key research skills early on in their studies opening up future career opportunities: More often than not, UROP has kick-started its alumni’s careers in academia and research.
As RWTH Aachen aims to align teaching and research more closely, we want our academic staff to integrate their research projects into the classroom and encourage our students to become involved in research at an early stage of their careers.
Through a central database, students can browse and select research projects across all disciplines. These projects are offered by RWTH and JARA (Jülich Aachen Research Alliance) professors and scholars – or international researchers – willing to serve as mentors and advisors for students participating in the UROP program.
International Dimension: North America as Research Partner
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A characteristic feature of the program is its international outlook: UROP not only offers projects for North American students conducting research at RWTH but also for RWTH students wishing to gain research experience at our partner institutions in Canada and the US. As most participants are able to receive scholarships for their stays abroad, UROP provides an attractive incentive for students to dip their feet into research waters and to potentially write their term papers or Bachelor’s thesis in the US or Canada as part of the UROP experience.
In UROP International, students from US and Canadian universities participate in a ten-week summer research internship program. As it offers an attractive combination of intensive research, German language learning and diverse cultural activities, UROP International has been tremendously popular with Canadian and American students. Moreover, it has resulted in the establishment of new partnerships with several prestigious universities and has significantly contributed to increasing RWTH's international visibility in North America.
Research-Led Teaching and Internationalization
At RWTH Aachen, research has become an integral curricular element on the undergraduate level – and the UROP program has had its share in this development. In light of its international dimension, the program actively promotes the internationalization of our university: Gifted young researchers from the US and Canada support RWTH’s research teams while the exchange of ideas and expertise tremendously boosts our international network.
UROP’s Three Program Components
- UROP International is designed for students from North American universities who conduct a ten-week summer research project at RWTH Aachen.
- RWTH UROP offers RWTH students the chance to become part of a research team at an institute of RWTH or JARA. The RWTH UROP component focuses on sustainability projects as well as projects in alignment with the UN’s 17 SDGs.
- UROP Abroad allows RWTH students to conduct research projects at high-profile universities and research institutions in the US and Canada.