Research Opportunities
Research is an exciting, and sometimes challenging, process of discovering something completely new.
It is also essential to tell the world about your discovery, for others to apply or build upon.
Research involves many tasks, such as investigating prior work, inventing, system-building, experimenting, reasoning (proofs), collaboration, writing, and speaking. It is essential to tell the world about your discovery, for others to apply or build upon.
Many research projects fail; if there is no chance of failure, it is not research.
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Finding a Research Project & Applying
STEP 1: Determine a topic.
Think about what you would like to research. What topics have you enjoyed most? Did you take a class and really liked the style of thinking? How do you approach problems? Are there faculty you would like to learn from and get to know better?
Occasionally, faculty members and graduate students will advertise research projects for undergraduates. It is not wise to wait for these announcements. Most research positions go to students who have pro-actively contacted a faculty member or Ph.D. student.
STEP 2: Determine possible faculty sponsors.
See CSE’s research webpage to determine what faculty members are working in your area of interest.
Some faculty work directly with undergraduates. However, faculty are very busy, so it is more common that undergraduate researchers are directly supervised by a graduate student, with occasional input from the faculty member. Don’t feel disappointed if you work with a PhD student. You will get a lot more attention from that person than you would from a faculty member. In general, unless you already know a PhD student, you should contact the faculty member, who may direct you to talk with a PhD student.
If a researcher is potentially interested in working with you, they will invite you to an inverview. That is an opportunity for both of you to learn about one another and determine whether you have a good research fit.
Finding Undergraduate Research
The following contains information about some (not all) research labs and researchers and how to get involved with them. Building connections with graduate students and asking them about projects they are working on can also be a good way to learn more about research opportunities.
Research Labs
Individual Researchers
STEP 3: Optionally, register for research credits and/or honors.
You can do research on a volunteer basis, for course credit, or for pay.
If you wis to receive course credit for doing research, register during the quarterly class registration process.
Each research credit hour carries the expectation of three hours of work per week (1 credit = 3 hours per week, 2 credits = 6 hours per week, etc.). Your faculty adviser will submit your grades at the end of the quarter. Research credits can be C/NC or can be subject to the UW’s numerical and letter grading system.
NOTE: Students who wish to participate in research opportunities outside of CSE can only use it toward CSE senior electives if they get a CSE faculty sponsor and register for CSE 498/496 credit. Please discuss this with an advisor if you have questions about conducting research in another department and applying it toward CSE requirements.
Use the CSE research registration tool to get the add-code you need to enter when you register for classes.
If you are pursuing CSE or College honors, sign up for honors. Honors students must do research and write a senior thesis. Make sure you are familiar with the CSE honors enrollment process and expectations.
STEP 4: Complete research.
Be proactive in communicating with your research advisor and in making sure project goals/requirements are clear. One of the skills developed through engagement in research is the ability to work independently; therefore, you will be expected to be somewhat self-directed. Your faculty sponsor is the one to determine if you have met the requirements and expectations of the research project, so check in periodically to make sure you are on track. You should turn in any results, assignments or written work to them.
Each year a Best Senior Thesis Award is given.
Types of Research Credit
See the information below to understand the different types of research credit.
These are used to provide you with academic credit towards your degree requirements for research activities and/or independent projects conducted under the supervision of a faculty member (see detailed descriptions below).The department strongly encourages research and independent project participation by undergraduates both as a way to sample and prepare for graduate school and to work on the leading edge of the field.
Both CSE 498 (maximum of 9 credits) and CSE 496 (maximum of 9 credits) may be used to fulfill Computer Science & Engineering electives and are graded courses. The difference between the two is that CSE 496 is for students enrolled in the University or Departmental Honors programs. CSE 499 may be used only as free elective credit and is graded credit/no-credit. You may register for CSE 499 for a quarter or two prior to fully engaging in a research project under CSE 498/496.
The number of496/498/499credits you take per quarter may vary. However, the average is 3-4 quarterly credits. Expect the workload to be approximately 3-4 hours per week per credit.
A faculty member must officially supervise all projects. A CSE graduate student or industry supervisor may, under the direction of a faculty member, also supervise your work. A faculty member is always responsible for the grading of every research project. Honors projects include an additional requirement that is laid out in detail on the honors section of the Degree Requirements page. (The content of the honors paper is determined by the student and supervising faculty. The paper is submitted as part of the final grade for the project. Since honors projects span multiple quarters, a student should receive an “X” until a final grade is submitted the last quarter of the project.)
You may not be paid an hourly salary and receive credit for the same research hours. However, if resources allow, it is possible to split research by having some hours paid and some counting towards credit.
To receive graded research, you should describe a development, survey literature, or conduct a small research project in an area of specialization. Objectives are: (1) applying and integrating classroom material from several courses, (2) becoming familiar with professional literature, (3) gaining experience in writing a technical document, and (4) enhancing employability through the evidence of independent work. Your project may cover an area in computer science and engineering or an application to another field. The work normally extends over more than one quarter. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Students pursuing 496, honors, must complete all 9 credits, their senior thesis, and oral presentation on the same project.
Available for CSE majors to do reading and research in the field. Usable as a free elective, but it cannot be taken in place of a core course or Computer Science & Engineering senior elective. 499 can be a good way to experiment with a research project before committing to 9 credits of honors work or further graded research. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Credit/No credit.
The type of research credits a student can enroll in is dependent on the student’s faculty mentor. The flowcharts below describe the research credits you are eligible to enroll in.
If you are a CSE major requesting research registration with an Allen School full-time faculty member, follow the instructions below:
- Log in to your MyCSE webpage.
- Scroll down the front page until you see the “Apply for Research” box.
- Check to make sure the default quarter is accurate; this is especially important when signing up for fall quarter as summer may still be listed.
- Fill in the online form requesting research. If you plan to work with a CSE grad student, you should list their faculty advisor as your research advisor on the form.
- An email will be sent to your faculty advisor, who will then go online to approve the request.
- Once the request has been approved, you will be sent an email with an add code to use to register.
- Important last step: actually REGISTER for the approved credits.
You are responsible for making sure that you do not over-enroll for more than 9 credits of graded, 498 research (9 credits allowed/required for honors).
NOTE: Students who wish to participate in research opportunities outside of CSE can only use it toward CSE senior electives if they get a CSE faculty sponsor and register for CSE 498/496 credit. Please discuss this with an advisor if you have questions about conducting research in another department and applying it toward CSE requirements.
Research Funding
Most but not all faculty members have funds they can use to pay undergraduates for research. Double-dipping is not allowed: you cannot get both course credit and pay for the same work.
If a faculty member does not have funding for undergraduates, then if they have an NSF research grant, they can apply for a NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) supplement. You could remind your faculty sponsor about this research opportunity. This site also gives information about REU programs at other universities for which you may be eligible. The Mary Gates Endowment, the Washington Research Foundation, and the Washington NASA Space Grant Program have research grants for undergraduates.
Departmental Honors and Senior Thesis
For full requirements on how to graduate with departmental honors, please see the the Degree Requirements CSE Honors section.
If you want to pursue departmental honors, you should notify your faculty advisor and determine a topic for your senior thesis. The honors research and project should be completed with one faculty member, or, in the rare instance where you need to switch advisors, faculty within the same area of research as the original advisor.
Students typically complete their thesis during their last quarter of research. Once the thesis is completed, one copy should be submitted to the faculty supervisor and one to the CSE undergraduate advisors. If you do not meet the honors thesis requirements, you will not graduate with honors even if you have successfully completed nine credits of research. In many cases, faculty will not issue grades for honors research until the entire project is finished and approved.
Undergraduate Thesis Archive
All CSE honors theses, including the past winners of the Best Senior Thesis Award, are published online as part of the UW CSE Undergraduate Thesis Archive.
Cross-Departmental Research Opportunities
Students can pursue research opportunities in any department. However, if they are doing CSE-related work and wish to earn CSE research credits they must find a CSE faculty member to sponsor the research. Credit types, amounts, and grading would then be worked out between the facutly sponsor, the student, and the research advisor in the other department. This should be arranged prior to beginning a project.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is undergraduate research?
The main reason is because you enjoy problem-solving and discovery. You should work on problems you really care about. If you try to force yourself to pursue a research project just to put it on your resume, you are unlikely to have the perseverence to succeed.
Research is a way to deepen knowledge in a specific subfield, especially if you have already taken all the relevant classes.
Experience in research usually transfers to your career. If you are lucky, your job will involve unique challenges. It may require you to refine vague or ill-posed questions, to experiment with different approaches, and to clearly communicate your findings to others in your company.
You might want a career in research. The best way to find out whether you like it is to do it. If you are interested in a PhD, which requires significant research over many years, then you should definitely do research to ensure you will enjoy it and to strengthen your grad school application. Some people who were not interested in research as a career have found that they enjoyed it and changed their plans.
Why should I get involved in research?
The main reason is if you want to see what research looks like as a career / think you may want a PhD. Undergraduate research is (unsurprisingly) one of the best ways to experiment with research as a career path.
Undergraduate research is an experience that is also sometimes transferrable to industry – some subfields, especially in machine learning, HCI, and ubicomp will be programming-heavy and can demonstrate experience for SWE roles.
How can I apply?
Before you apply, understand the following questions:
What subfield am I interested in? Do I want to work on something specific (e.g. improving mobile communication access for rural communities) or something broad (e.g. exploring HCI as a subfield)?
Why am I interested in doing research? Maybe you’re interested in research to a) try it out, b) explore a new subfield, or c) deepen knowledge in a subfield you’re interested in.
How has my prior experience clarified my interests and passions? Did you take a class and really liked the style of thinking? How do you approach problems?
Start at Finding Research – some faculty and labs already have an established pipeline for applicants. If you are interested in theory, the process is slightly different since there are fewer theory researchers. Your best bet is reaching out directly to faculty within this research area with some topics of interest, and continuing to take theory-related courses.
What are the prerequisites for research?
This will depend a lot on the subfield you are interested in. Here are a few sample research subfields and the type of work you might encounter:
Human-Computer Interaction: HCI researchers ask, how do humans use computers? How can we make those interactions more seamless? Better for people with disabilities? HCI research often will involve coding, user studies, and data analysis.
Machine learning/robotics: ML/robotics researchers ask, how can we teach computers to learn? What techniques does the literature use, and how can we improve on that? ML/robotics research will often be coding heavy and may involve matrix calculus/linear algebra. Taking CSE446 (ML) and math coursework is often recommended.
Computational/synthetic biology: comp/synth bio researchers ask, how can computational techniques advance our understanding of biology? This field is broad and may require prior knowledge in biology or an aptitude to read papers from both computer science and biology. Research may look like work in the wetlab, data analysis / visualization, or coding.
Theory: theory researchers ask, what can we prove using math? Theory often stands alone from other research areas in that coding is infrequently needed – most of the work is reviewing literature and proving theorems. Strong performance in CSE311/421, high level math coursework, or taking graduate level theory courses is recommended.
This is not a complete list of subfields, and every subfield is different!
Positions will usually outline the prerequisite courses or skillsets that are expected, so use those to gauge whether you would be a competitive applicant for the position. Otherwise, you can always reach out to the faculty or graduate students you are interested in working with to see if there are other openings that match your background better.
Other ways to learn?
Research is a one way to explore a new field, but there are others.
Take advanced classes, including graduate classes. These are often open to undergraduates who have exhausted the undergraduate classes in an area. Again, you will need to ask permission to register, but don’t be shy about asking.lot on the subfield you are interested in. Here are a few sample research subfields and the type of work you might encounter:
Attend colloquia, which bring researchers from within and outside UW to explain their latest discoveries. Most colloquia are available from the CSE YouTube channel.
Attend research seminars, which are classes numbered CSE 590. For some 590 seminars, you will read and discuss a paper each week. (This might seem daunting, but you will get the hang of it!) For other 590 seminars, you just need to show up and listen to a talk. 590 seminars require permission of the instructor to attend, but don’t be shy about asking.