Connect Students with Undergraduate Research Opportunities!

Doctoral student Jim Benes and UCARE students Jasmine Pham and Joe Stalder with charcoal samples from the Nebraska Sandhills.
Doctoral student Jim Benes and UCARE students Jasmine Pham and Joe Stalder with charcoal samples from the Nebraska Sandhills.

By supporting these initiatives, advisors play a pivotal role in preparing students for graduate study and competitive careers. The following are just a couple opportunities you might discuss with students during fall term:

Rolling Admissions for the New ASTER LSAMP Program
We are pleased to announce a new undergraduate research program! The Aligning STEM Trainees for Enterprising Research (ASTER) program is designed to grow and diversify the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce at participating institutions in Kansas and Nebraska.

Supported by a National Science Foundation Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) grant, the ASTER program hosts an annual conference and virtual professional development events to build community among student researchers and faculty across our alliance of universities in Nebraska and Kansas.

ASTER applicants must be enrolled full-time, degree-seeking UNL undergraduates; U.S. citizens or permanent residents; and pursuing a bachelor’s degree in a STEM field.

Applications are open and will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the first cohort is filled. Students, faculty, and staff can learn more about the program here.

Mid-November Application Launch for UCARE Proposals
As you may already know, the Undergraduate Creative Activities and Research Experiences (UCARE) program is a paid opportunity for students to develop their own research or creative project alongside UNL faculty.

To be eligible for UCARE support, applicants must be full-time, degree-seeking undergraduates with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75 and have between 30 to 120 credit hours. Students from all majors and disciplines are welcome, and you can see a listing of this year’s cohort here!

Please encourage bright and curious students to apply for UCARE this November! In addition to advising support, UCARE staff will be hosting a variety of events this semester and early in 2025:

• UCARE Information Session
November 12th – Zoom Registration

• UCARE Writing Workshop #1
December 5th – Zoom Registration

• UCARE Writing Workshop #2
January 14th – Zoom Registration

• UCARE Drop-In Hours
February 10th-12th – Nebraska Union Room 230
From 9:00am-11:00am and 1:00pm-3:00pm

UCARE accepts both summer and academic year applications only once per year, between mid-November and mid-February. The deadline for the 2025-2026 program cycle being February 12, 2025. Students, faculty, and staff can learn more about the program and find resources on the Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships’ refreshed website.


More details at: https://uraf.unl.edu