We would like our undergraduate students to benefit from our research expertise, so we can enrich their experience and increase their chances of being accepted in prestigious graduate programs. Now in its fourth year at AUB, the Undergraduate Research Volunteer Program (URVP) is an initiative hosted under the Office of the Provost and targets undergraduate students interested in research early on in their academic journey. Since its launch in 2019, the URVP program has already matched 553 students with 335 projects, and we hope to match as many this year.
Students from all undergraduate majors at AUB, who have completed at least 24 sophomore credits and GPA of 3.0 and above can apply to volunteer research opportunities in the following 3 Programs:
- University Research Volunteer Program (URVP) which covers projects across faculties, centers, and research clusters
- Medical Research Volunteer Program (MRVP) which offers projects related to the medical field
- MRVP International which offers projects related to the medical field abroad.
| URVP is a fantastic way for students to become familiar with disciplines outside their degree tracks. As an undergraduate studying psychology, I knew I had an interest in mental health, but I was not very interested in the inner workings of the mind. It was not until I started volunteering at FHS that I became exposed to public health and epidemiology, which helped me realize that I was interested in mental health as a public health issue. This has been a massive help in figuring out in what direction I want to go with further education. Taking on a major research project while studying full-time as an undergraduate is a challenge. However, it was just the experience I needed to spark my initial interest in a research career, to subsequently make me question whether I really wanted that, and to ultimately confirm that it is indeed a path I would like to pursue. I would highly encourage other students to get involved with URVP, even if you have a big red question mark next to research on your list of career options. There is incredible research being produced at AUB. URVP provides the opportunity to become involved in such projects and will provide you with invaluable skills that are desirable in most career paths.
- Leen Farouki, BA Psychology 2021
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