Research & Planning for Grad School

Whether you’ve already made up your mind that you want to obtain a degree after your bachelor’s or you’re still exploring  your options, obtaining research experience as an undergraduate can strengthen your resume for both further study and entering the workforce. As a current sophomore, I’m by no means any sort of an authority on graduate school, but I’ve put together a brief overview of graduate degrees as well as undergraduate research opportunities at and outside of Purdue.

Grad School

In-person traditional thesis engineering master’s and PhD degrees offered at Purdue are Aeronautics and Astronautics, Agricultural and Biological, Biomedical, Chemical, Civil, Electrical and Computer, Environmental and Ecological, Industrial, Materials, Mechanical, and Nuclear. Professional master’s degrees and online options, which are traditionally geared more for advanced vocational applications than research, are offered for AAE, ABE, BME, CHME CE, ECE, EEE, IE, MSE, ME, NE, Autonomous and Connected Systems (Robotics, Internet of Things, and Autonomy), Engineering Education, Engineering Management, Interdisciplinary Engineering, and Systems Engineering. 

A MSE/MS+MBA dual degree with the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University and a MS(E)+MBA with Krannert School of Business at Purdue are similarly well suited for students interested in a corporate-based engineering job as opposed to lab work or full-time research. Additionally, Purdue Engineering offers a MS(E)+MBT designed specifically for STEM professionals and also affiliated with the Mitch Daniels School of Business. MBAs are widely applicable to management and business solutions in a variety of sectors, while MBTs tend to narrow in on technology development, startups, markets, and business models. 

Current undergraduate students should be aware that AAE, BME, ECE, EEE, MSE, ME, and NE offer 4+1 programs in which students can apply for a combined degree in their junior year and, upon completion, graduate with both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in their respective major in a total of five years. This application process includes a major-dependent GPA requirement no lower than 3.0 (BME recommends but does not officially require a 3.0, and all other majors are equal or higher), successful completion and potential higher grade requirements for major-specific classes, and a statement of purpose.

There is certainly a case to be made for obtaining a higher degree outside of Purdue; you can explore a new university or city, take a break in your academic study for work or travel, or enter the workforce and try to coordinate with your employer for potential graduate school reimbursement. 

Undergraduate Research Opportunities

Purdue SURF: The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship at Purdue is an eleven-week research program on the West Lafayette campus during the summer. SURF at Purdue is very competitive and has an approximate 10-20% acceptance rate depending on the year. Undergraduate student applications open in December and close for the priority deadline mid-January after which rolling acceptance begins. There is a minimum GPA requirement of 2.8 and, as with most research positions, seniority is preferred. Purdue SURF pays a $6,500 total stipend and a potential housing allowance if applied for by the priority deadline. Faculty post their project descriptions, desired majors and experience, and contact information for affiliated professors and labs on the SURF page, and students should read and rank their top choices as well as mention them specifically in their letter of interest and reach out to the leading professors. Purdue SURF is particularly desirable for international students as, apart from a few projects affiliated with the Department of Defense and other restricted U.S. endeavors, citizenship is not required and approximately half of participants are originally from outside the United States. 

Purdue FTR: Purdue’s First-Time Researcher Fellowship takes place during the spring semester and offers a $1,000 stipend to undergraduate researchers who spend approximately ten hours a week in their selected labs. As the name suggests, this program is specifically for students who have completed less than a semester’s worth of college-level research prior to participation. Either the student, the project, or both are required to be affiliated with Purdue Engineering - for engineering students, this means that you can still be eligible for this program if the lab you’re working with is not related to engineering. As with SURF, international students are encouraged to apply but to keep an eye out for projects that require citizenship. Interested students should apply roughly halfway through the preceding fall semester and expect to take the mandatory ENGR296 - First Time Researcher Course that prepares them to present their findings at the Spring Undergraduate Research Conference. After the application, students are encouraged to reach out to the PI (principal investigator) and/or graduate student(s) of the FTR project to introduce themselves and gain more information about the lab and its projects. 

NSF REU: The National Science Foundation offers Research Experiences for Undergraduates at REU sites located primarily at universities around the country. The vast majority of REUs are during the summer; applications take place late fall through the spring and can be accessed on the NSF ETAP site. Programs range from 7-12 weeks and include housing, a stipend, and potential travel and food funding as well. Applications are generally restricted to U.S. citizens, nationals, and permanent residents, but some sites do consider self-funded international students. NSF funds research in engineering specifically as well as physics, math, data science, and other STEM projects that Purdue engineering students may be well suited for; I would say that I saw the largest number of engineering-related programs that would be well suited for ECEs, EEE, MSEs, and MEs this year, but there were definitely a good demand for all engineering students with the possible exception of NEs. REUs, like a lot of research programs, tend to be competitive; in particular, a large number of physical science majors apply (that being said, universities anticipated a comparative deflation of GPA for engineering (especially at Purdue) as opposed to most other majors). Although some application materials such as transcripts and letters of recommendation overlap, you have to apply for each site individually and are recommended to tailor your statement of purpose and other writing supplements to the specific projects. The typical recommendation is to submit personalized applications to 8-12 sites, and I ended up applying to eleven. Prior to acceptance, I had a short call with the PI for my position at Mizzou, but that was very laid-back and doesn’t happen for all sites. For the best chances of success, you should apply to wide range of schools with variety in their location, ranking, and desirability - MU had 289 applicants for eight spots but University of Washington, which had a focus on marine research (which tends to be more competitive) and included boat work and one project with trips to glacier sites, had over 500 applicants to ten spots. Unsurprisingly, sites in Hawaii, Florida, and California are very competitive. I would also encourage students to look locally; for example, the University of Kentucky had several questions about Appalachia relation/residency, and the University of Alaska Anchorage was looking specifically for Alaska residents.

Other Undergraduate Research Opportunities: The programs listed above and other paid research opportunities are competitive, particularly for underclassmen. There are definitely other ways to gain research experience both at Purdue and elsewhere. I’ve received several major-specific emails about professors looking for undergraduate research assistance in supporting their graduate students; there seems to be a preference for those available during the summer, so it might serve you well to explore summer jobs at Purdue that offer housing and part- or full- time work while assisting part-time in a research lab. Additionally, if you’re home for the summer, you can reach out to your local state or community colleges to see if there is part time involvement available as well - they are less likely to take on and pay a full time position, so limited hours can work well for coordinating with a paying summer job. As a final note, so much of research availability is luck of the draw and, especially at the moment, up in the air with federal funding. Try your best not to stress yourself out with applications, and don’t take on more than you can chew with your courses - especially for grad school, a higher GPA is more important than prior research experience. 

I hope this blog article provided some helpful information, and best of luck with any and all of your applications!

Natalie Anderson IE ‘27

Recruitment Project Committee

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