Undergraduates are encouraged to get involved in scientific research as part of their undergraduate experience.
Most, if not all faculty members are open to providing undergraduates with research projects and experiences as a volunteer, for course credit, or in some cases, with payment. Research faculty in other departments and colleges, such as the Health Science Center, Bioengineering, and Psychology may also act as research advisors. These research experiences often help a student decide on career paths toward basic research, applied research or professional school. Many students are co-authors on scientific articles in top journals providing a boost to their post-college applications whether to industry or higher education.
Depending on their academic status, students may enroll in different research courses which provide credit toward graduation and are available to undergraduate students from their sophomore through their senior year. A summary of the different courses and their requirements is here. A student may register for these courses for more than one semester, so that research may continue throughout the student's time at Temple. It is also possible to obtain credit for participation in structured internship programs. In all cases, permission of the faculty and application to the department Research Committee is required before registering for research credits.
Seniors who participate in research may be eligible for Distinction in Major at graduation. To be eligible for distinction, a student must retain a grade point average of 3.2 or better (overall and in the major), should be enrolled in Biology 4391, Biology 4291, or Biology 4591(see here for more details) for a minimum of 6 semester hours over two semesters, must write a final research paper and present his/her research at a departmental research poster session before graduation.
The College of Science and Technology provides support for CST students to engage in research projects through the CST-Research Scholars Program, formerly known as Undergraduate Research Program (URP).
The university offers additional programs for creative research as well as internship and scholarship programs.