Overview of Opportunities

All SEFS undergraduate students can become involved in faculty research during their time at the UW, either with SEFS faculty or faculty in the many other departments on campus doing environmental science or engineering research.  If you wish to earn credit for your research and you are working with SEFS faculty, you register for either BSE 499 or ESRM 499, using the Undergraduate Research Registration Form on the Student Forms, Policies and Procedures page. If you are registering for credit with faculty in other departments, you register for research credit from the faculty member’s department.   

Guidelines

UW students can participate in undergraduate research work with SEFS faculty.  Research opportunities could include such duties as assisting with an existing research project, data collection, field work and other tasks.  You might also have the chance to do your own independent research.  You may be asked to submit a written summary of work completed.   All research work must be supervised by a SEFS faculty member, who will award you your grade. 

Procedure for Finding a Research Opportunity

1. Students should familiarize themselves with SEFS faculty research by searching for faculty pursuing research in areas of interest, or look at similar faculty research pages in other UW departments.
2. Once students discover faculty to contact, they should familiarize themselves with the faculty’s work before scheduling a meeting to discuss available research opportunities.
3. Once you come to an agreement about the work to be performed in the following quarter, you and the faculty member complete and submit the Undergraduate Research Registration Form if you are registering with a SEFS faculty member.
4. You will be sent the faculty registration code from SEFS Undergraduate Advising.

This research registration form must be submitted every quarter you register for research.

Credits and Registration

Both faculty member and student should be clear about which section the student should register for and for how many credits. Students are expected to spend approximately three hours of work/study each week for each credit earned.

The course options are either BSE 499 or ESRM 499 [these sections are effective Summer 2023 forward; for earlier quarters please check the Time Schedule]:

• 499 section A is for students registering to be graded CR/NC
• 499 section B is for students registering for Standard grading.
• 499 section C is for Department Honors students; grading is Standard grading.

Student Follow Up

Students should check in with their supervising faculty throughout the quarter to ensure work completed is satisfactory and to ensure your final work for the quarter is completed by the faculty member’s deadline.     

Student Conduct and Safety in Research

Students are representing the UW and SEFS during their research work and are expected to behave professionally and practice good field and lab safety. Reports to the contrary may result in the student being asked to stop the independent study course without receiving credit.