The Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) was originally developed in 1988 to increase the retention and improve the academic performance of underrepresented minority students at the University of Michigan. The original program was based, in part, on the critical observation that minority students do not identify with the intellectual mission of the university as advantaged students do and that this lack of identification leads to higher attrition rates for minority students. UROP was also developed to engage lower division students at the University of Michigan more directly with faculty so they can benefit from the wealth of research activity taking place at the University and perhaps foster more interest in research related or academic careers. Since its inception UROP has become a national model for how research universities can enrich the education of undergraduates by making it possible for them to become actively involved in the research enterprise. The kind of experience UROP provides for students could only happen at a large university that values undergraduate education. In 2002 U.S. News and World Report ranked UROP Number 1 in the category, Undergraduate Research/Creative Projects. UROP has consistently ranked at the top of this category in the ensuing years.
Only a few years after its inception in 1988, UROP introduced seminars and peer facilitators as a program component. Seminars and Peer Facilitators are meant to monitor student progress, expose them to new research skills, contribute to their professional development, as well as create a diverse community of young researchers. Although UROP was designed as a program for first- and second-year students, there was some sense that juniors and seniors would also benefit from the research experience and in 1998, after much debate, the program was expanded to include juniors and seniors who had not been previously exposed to research. Over time, UROP assessed that more and more upper level students had become highly exposed to research with the exception of one group: students transferring from community colleges. Thus, in 2010, UROP initiated the Changing Gears program designed to cater solely to the needs and concerns of community college transferring students. In the span of less than a decade, UROP grew from a small program of 15 students and faculty to 700 students working on 500 projects across a multitude of disciplines. Over 1300 students participate in UROP today.
Timeline
1988 - UROP begins with 15 students and 15 faculty members
1989 - First UROP Student Research Symposium is held
1992 - UROP expands to 150 students and 130 research sponsors responding to a national focus to integrate undergraduate education and research at research universities
1992 - University of Michigan receives a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to fund a Summer Biomedical and Life Sciences Summer Research Fellowship Program, a grant from the State of Michigan and the U.S. Department of Education to study the impact of undergraduate research on diverse student retention and pursuit of graduate education.
1993 - UROP adds seminars and peer advisors to the program to create a community of student researchers and a mechanism to ensure good research partnerships
1996 - UROP receives the Theodore Hesburgh Award for Model Undergraduate Programs
1996 - UROP receives a grant in collaboration with the Detroit Initiative and Ginsburg Center to launch a community based research program placing students in non-profit community based organizations. UROP initiates UROP in Residence, an on-campus residential community of undergraduate researchers.
1997 - University of Michigan receives 1 of 10 Recognition Awards for the Integration of Research Education from the National Science Foundation
1998 - Boyer Commission Report, Reinventing Undergraduate Education is published recommending the creation of undergraduate research programs at research universities to improve undergraduate education.
1998 - Article on the impact of undergraduate research on student retention is published in the Review of Higher Education. UROP expands to include juniors and seniors.
1999 - UROP receives the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mentoring
2002 - Article on the impact of undergraduate research on the pursuit of graduate and professional School education is published in the Journal of College Student Development
2005 - Michigan Undergraduate Research Day is celebrated at the State Capitol
2006 - UROP starts Research Scholars Program for students participating in UROP for a second year
2006 - UROP receives a grant from Intel to create the Summer Engineering Research Fellowship Program
2007 - UROP expands to 850 students
2010 - UROP’s enrollment reaches over 1000 students. UROP replaces the Junior/Senior program with Changing Gears, a program designed for community college transfer students.
2012 - 1300 students participate in UROP
2013 - UROP celebrates its 25th anniversary.
2013 - UROP revamps the community based research program to focus on Detroit, allowing students the opportunity to live and work in the City.
