PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT
Undergraduate Research and Opportunity Program (UROP) Sparks Enthusiasm Among Students
By Rhoda Shapiro Photos: Robert C. Bain
For the last several years, the Undergraduate Research and Opportunity Program (UROP) has been making an impact on the lives of SJSU students.
The UROP model, which builds on components from similar programs at CSU Long Beach and the University of Michigan, is geared toward not only providing students with on-the-ground paid experience in research, but also with opportunities for connection, collaboration and professional development. It’s open to freshmen, sophomores and first-year transfer students.
“Sometimes when students come here early in their academic career or for the first time on campus, they might struggle with making community. They might feel isolated,” says UROP Director Andrew Carter, ’14 MA Communication Studies. “So we built this cohort model to bring students in and give them a chance to build community and connect.”
Carter has been an assistant professor in the department of public health and recreation for nearly six years now. Along with Jahmal Williams, the director of DEI partnerships and UROP’s founder, Carter was instrumental in launching the program campus-wide in 2021.
The initial cohort started with 12 students. Now, in its fourth year, there are 66.
Once students are accepted into the program, they sign up for two classes, three units in the fall and one unit in the spring. In the first class, they learn about the basics of research, professional development and critical consciousness.
“An important part of the program is the idea of critical consciousness,” says Carter. “In addition to getting students to think about the basics of research, it’s also based on thinking about their role and positionality in the research process and outcomes. So it’s thinking about things like power and inequity, and how that manifests at different stages of the research process.”
In the second class, which meets only five times during the spring semester, students are trained to translate their research to different audiences.
Along with the classroom component, students also work on a research project with a faculty mentor.
“Before the next school year starts, faculty submit existing research that they’re working on. They’re all in different phases – some faculty are just thinking through ideas, and others have already collected data and are ready to analyze it,” says Carter. “Students are able to look at the projects available, and they choose who they work with.”
“We built this cohort model to bring students in and give them a chance to build community and connect.”
— Andrew Carter
“Even if you don’t go into research as a career, it's relevant for whatever you go into. You’re getting some applied real world experience.”
— Andrew Carter
It’s a win-win for all, as faculty get the opportunity to work with a student assistant for the year, while students receive valuable hands-on experience in their topic of research.
“Every student who is a part of the program gets paid too,” says Carter. “Every student can get paid for up to 10 hours a week to work with their faculty mentor.”
Katherine Wilkinson, professor of biological sciences, has been part of UROP for the past three years. She’s currently working with two students in the program. Her lab studies the muscle spindle, or what she likes to call, “the most important sensory organ you've never heard of.”
“These tiny structures in your muscle constantly report muscle length and movement information, which helps you make a 3D image of where you are in space. This is important for balance and movement,” says Wilkinson. “Right now, we’re trying to understand how the muscle spindle changes during development.”
Wilkison also adds: “I've really enjoyed working with the UROP program as it helps me recruit very talented students to my lab.”
Along with support from faculty, the program also has one peer mentor for every class. This peer mentor, usually a junior or senior, is someone who graduated from the program and deeply understands all its ins and outs. Students can ask them questions and get additional support.
Since UROP is campuswide, it attracts students representing all areas of study. There are students doing everything from mechanical engineering projects to qualitative work in humanities.
“Students come into the program with a linear understanding of what research is, like being in a lab with a coat on. But what they're seeing is there are so many different definitions of what research is,” says Carter. “Even if you don’t go into research as a career, it’s relevant for whatever you go into. You’re getting some applied real world experience.”
Laying the groundwork
Although the program officially launched in 2021, the seeds for UROP were planted back in 2014. At that time, Williams was an early alert coordinator with SJSU’s Peer Connections department. He noticed that all across campus, some students were struggling in their academic pursuits, and that there were faculty members who truly wanted to help them succeed.
“Many of those students were in their first and second year,” says Williams. “I wanted to think of additional ways to help bridge that gap in achievement, but I was so new to SJSU and California that I still had so much to learn and understand.”
Williams remembered his own time in the UROP program as a first year student at the University of Michigan. He credits that program with not only keeping him in school, but also with helping him thrive and succeed throughout his life.
He knew that if SJSU had such a program, it would create a profound impact for both students and faculty.
And so, in 2017, with the blessing of his supervisor Deanna Peck, Williams ran a pilot program with five students and a peer mentor. The pilot continued for three years and helped him to define processes, goals and co-curricular aspects of how the program would operate. All of this laid the groundwork for UROP to launch successfully in 2021.
“It has been amazing learning about the process of research. I always had it in my mind that research could only be scientific, but there are so many different types of research you can do.”
— Loghann Bellamy
The joys of research
Loghann Bellamy, ’26 Sociology, is a current UROP student who’s used her time in the program to explore ways to incorporate research into her future career. She’s currently engaged in a humanities-oriented research project on the 1800s movement known as luddism, in which textile workers opposed having their jobs automated by new machinery.
“It has been amazing learning about the process of research,” says Bellamy. “I always had it in my mind that research could only be scientific, but there are so many different types of research you can do.”
Sasha Benjamin, ’27 Molecular Biology, says that UROP has allowed her to explore different avenues outside of her major. She is currently doing research for the Silicon Valley Pain Index, an annual report that compiles data on the inequity being experienced across different areas for San José and Silicon Valley residents. Benjamin is particularly interested in researching how housing policy is created and how the lack of affordable housing is impacting Silicon Valley.
“We have a team of staff, faculty and other students working together to pull different data from areas to compile the index that is supposed to be released in June,” says Benjamin.
“It’s nice to have the student perspective on some areas we’re researching. I hope it will hit home and be relatable to people. My generation is up and coming, and we care about all this, too.”
UROP, which is a year-long program, culminates into two experiences at the end of the year. During Research Week, UROP students are given space to set up posters and share their projects. And in spring 2025, for the first time, they’ll also be doing a student research showcase in the Student Union Ballroom.
Williams feels that “funding for the program is the only barrier keeping the program from expanding.” There are currently many other students hoping to be included in the program, and Williams is hoping for more funding to include them all.
Carter believes that the program’s growth is owed in large part to the enthusiasm of everyone involved.
“It has grown the way it has because there’s a genuine passion and authenticity from everyone involved,” says Carter. “There’s an ethic of care.”
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