Undergraduate Research

STARS Research

Pioneering discoveries by students

While working with and learning from faculty at the forefront of today’s most exciting breakthroughs in all disciplines, Yale undergraduates have discovered new species, created new technologies, developed and patented new products, and co-authored original research.

Yale research changing the world

Yale researchers recently tested the possibility that a single vaccine could tackle both Zika and the West Nile Virus. Yale physicists discovered a time crystal that “ticks” upon exposure to an electromagnetic pulse, and Yale scholars of Architecture and Forestry collaborated with the UN to design an Ecological Living Module.

Extraordinary resources, available to all

To inspire original research, Yalies have access to a dazzling collection of unique resources at their fingertips including the Center for Engineering Innovation and Design, the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, the Brain Imaging Center, the Peabody Museum of Natural History, the Yale Collection of Musical Instruments, the Yale University Art Gallery and Yale Center for British Art

100+

Summer research fellowships awarded to first-year students

95%

Undergraduate science majors who do research with faculty.

$1 Million+

Funding for undergraduate science research fellowships annually

800

Science, math, and engineering labs at Yale College and the graduate and professional schools.

15,000,000

Holdings in Yale’s libraries

Real research in the first year

First-year students can begin conducting original research by using a Yale College First-Year Summer Research Fellowship that provides support for a summer research experience in the sciences and/or engineering under the supervision of a Yale faculty member. More than 100 such fellowships are set aside for first-year students.

Diversity in the sciences

Since 1995, Yale’s nationally recognized STARS (Science, Technology and Research Scholars) Program has promoted diversity in the sciences through mentoring, academic year study groups, and an original research-based summer program for students in their first and second years. Juniors and seniors have the opportunity to continue their research through the STARS II Program.

Blast off!

A team from the Yale Undergraduate Aerospace Association was chosen by NASA as one of sixteen across the country whose CubeSat research satellites will be flown into space as auxiliary payloads on upcoming space missions. Yale’s Bouchet Low-Earth Alpha/Beta Space Telescope (BLAST) will map the distribution of galactic cosmic radiation, providing insight into the origins of the universe.