UROP Details
Course Information
| Code | Title | Units | Pre-requisite |
|---|---|---|---|
| CP3209 | Undergraduate Research | 8 | Have at least 60 Units at the point of applying |
Eligibility
To be eligible for UROP, a student must:
- Be an SoC student;
- Have at least 60 Units at the point of applying (includes units enrolled during project selection semester);
- Attain a minimum GPA of 3.8.
Workload and Duration
- A student who applies for UROP is committed to taking an 8 Unit workload.
- CP3209 must be completed before (and not concurrently with) CP4101 BComp Dissertation (FYP). Therefore, a student should plan to finish the CP3209 before starting CP4101.
- The duration of UROP is inclusive of the vacation preceding each of the semester(s). Work starts in the vacation preceding the first semester.
- During the vacation, students are expected to conduct full-time research. During the semester, the students are expected to spend a few hours per week on their project.
Application and Briefing
Application for UROP is open in every regular semester (Semester 1 and Semester 2). Please refer to the link here for the actual schedule for bidding exercises.
A mass email will be sent out to all students to inform them that application is open, and a briefing to interested students will be conducted usually in Week 7. Eligible students can apply for the UROP via the Project Administration System
Past briefing materials that summarize the UROP requirements for the specific incoming cohort are available for reference on the Forms section of this UROP website.
Reports and Evaluation
Continual Assessment (for students that started UROP in the current semester):
Towards the end of each semester, a UROP student must submit an interim progress report for evaluation by both the main evaluator and supervisor, which accounts for 30% of the final grade of the project. CA given by supervisor will be 15% and the main evaluator would assess the progress for 15%.
Students are required to make the arrangement to meet up with both the supervisor and the main evaluator so that he/she can report on his/her progress after submitting the interim report, during the reading week. Please refer to the guidelines below for CA presentation.
The CA Report will be used as a basis for your supervisor and main evaluator to decide whether or not you have made sufficient progress to continue with UROP. If your supervisor and main evaluator agrees that you can continue the project, you will be automatically registered for CP3209 next semester; and you will receive an ‘IP’ grade for CP3209 this semester. If however, your supervisor and main evaluator decide that you have not made sufficient progress and recommends that you discontinue the project, you would receive an ‘IC’ grade for CP3209.
Final Report (for students that are presenting in the current semester):
The final evaluation will account for 70% of the final grade of the project, assessed by both supervisor and main evaluator. The weightage for supervisor and main evaluator are 35% and 35% respectively.
Please click here for the actual report submission schedule.
Presentation Guidelines
Time line for UROP Presentation:
| Activity | Semester |
|---|---|
| CA Presentation | Reading week of first semester |
| Final Presentation | Reading week of next semester |
Please refer to the Project Administration System for the schedule of presentation of your project.
Guidelines for CA Presentation:
- As the CA presentation is an informal presentation, it could be held in the staff office (supervisor or main evaluator) or in discussion/meeting rooms. In the latter case, supervisor could help in booking the room.
- Based on the report submitted by students, supervisors / main evaluators can have informal discussion about the student’s understanding of the project, progress, what he would be doing in the next semester, and expected outcome at the end of the project.
- Students may use their note book to show a few slides.
- CA accounts for 30% of the final grade of the project. Supervisor and main evaluator would assess the progress for 15% each. A few pointers on which the supervisors and main evaluators would evaluate and provide feedback are given in the CA evaluation form.
- We would recommend that students give one presentation to both supervisor and main evaluator at the same time. However, students are allowed to do separate presentations, provided both supervisor and main evaluator are agreeable with the arrangement.
Assessment Criteria for Final Presentation:
Final presentation shall be assessed by a main evaluator (identified at the first semester). During the presentation, students are expected to present their ideas in simple words and be able to articulate the problem and contribution.
Supervisor shall evaluate the final report of the student, but not the presentation.
The final evaluation will account for 70% of the final grade of the project. The weightage for supervisors, and main evaluators is 35% each.
For detailed assessment criteria, please refer here:
Please refer here for the report format.
Withdrawal
The deadlines for withdrawal [without penalty, with a withdrawn (W) grade, and with a fail (F) grade] follow those for other courses. Students withdrawing from UROP anytime before the end of the ‘W’ grade window in the second semester will receive a ‘W’ grade. Afterwards, the ‘F’ grade will apply.
In addition, a supervisor can terminate an unsatisfactory project by the deadline for withdrawal with penalty.
Students who wish to discontinue / withdraw from UROP are required to do the followings:
- Notify both the supervisors and the Ms Sharifah as soon as possible but NOT LATER THAN begining of second semester into UROP.
- Submit the UROP Withdrawal Form to Ms Sharifah
Students who failed to comply and subsequently decide to withdraw from UROP will be regarded as having failed the course.
Research Experience (REx)
With effect from AY2024-25, Semester 1, SoC’s UROP students may optionally upgrade their UROP to the UROP+REx (CP3209+CP3209R) programme, with the REx being an enhancement applicable to existing Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme (UROP) courses.
REx aims to provide students with a holistic research experience through participation in research themed workshops, showcasing their work at conferences or symposiums, and collaborating with undergraduate researchers from other disciplines in NUS. The 4 main components are
- Rex Grant of up to $2500
- Research Themed Workshops
- Research Showcase
- Certificate of Completion
Students can only benefit from the REx upgrade once in their undergrad career.
Students who opt to upgrade their UROP will be assigned both course codes (CP3209 and CP3209R), with CP3209R being a zero-unit CS/CU rider course.
Official e-Certificate of Completion will be issued via Accredible when REx Fellows complete the requirements of the course upgrade.
Grant of up to $2500
All REx Fellows have access to a $2500 grant which can be used to support expenses related to their research project. They have until their last semester in NUS to access the grant.
Supervisors may also make the upfront payment for their students if they wish to, and the amount can be claimed from the REx grant.
How do REx Fellows claim from the grant?
REx Fellows must submit completed reimbursements forms along with all relevant receipts to NUS REx at pvobox66@nus.edu.sg as a single PDF file. REx Fellows may submit more than one reimbursement form if they need to.
Reimbursement forms can be downloaded from NUS Undergraduate Research website. Upon approval by PVO, grant monies are disbursed to REx Fellows.
REQUIREMENTS OF REx
1a. Research Themed Workshops
REx Fellows are to attend a minimum of 5 REx workshops within 12 months upon onboarded as a REx Fellow. This should comprise of 2 core workshops (Ethics in Research and Research Methodologies) and 3 elective workshops of choice.
All REx workshops are conducted in person at either Central Library or Medicine+Science Library, unless otherwise stated.
Workshops are scheduled between Week 6 to Week 11 of Semesters 1 and 2. The schedule will be announced by Week 1 of each semester.
1b. Research Showcase
As part of our objective to encourage students to take ownership of their work, REx Fellows are required to showcase their research via either one of the following options:
- Present their research at the annual UROP+REx Conference
- Participating in Researcher Unbound Plus (RU+) hosted by PVO-UGRC and NUS Libraries
- Submission of a deliverable of chosen format in relation to UROP project (e.g. research poster, slide deck presented at a local or international conference or executive summary)
1c. Self-Evaluation form
Self-Evaluation forms are to be submitted to PVO upon completion of all REx components. You may download the form here.
Eligibility, Application Timelines and Assessment
Students must be registered under SoC’s UROP before they are eligible to apply for the upgraded UROP, REx. It is highly recommended for students applying for UROP to concurrently apply for REx as well.
Grant calls will be announced by PVO twice a year. The grant call and closing dates will be communicated to applicants by the UG Research Coordinating team from the Office of the Provost (PVO).
Please be informed that students can only choose to upgrade a UROP course with Research Experience (REx) once in their undergraduate career.
How to apply for REx?
Download the REx Grant Proposal Form for respective faculty from the NUS Undergraduate Research website here and submit the completed form via email to NUS REx at pvobox66@nus.edu.sg
Application Deadline: Week 3 of Semester 1 or 2 of the academic year
Students, supervisors and department admins will be informed of application outcomes via email by Week 5. Upon approval of the grant proposal, applicants will be named as a “REx Fellow” and allocated to CP3209R on EduRec.
REx Fellows will also be allocated to REx CANVAS page (REX1000) by Week 5. The access to REX1000 will remain active until graduation unless withdrawal from programme.
Assessment
REx components of the course upgrade are monitored by PVO and are not graded. Overall grade of UROP upgraded courses are not affected by REx components.
Please note that REx Fellows are not allowed to reuse their UROP report as research showcase submission.
Withdrawal from REx
If a student decides to withdraw from the REx upgrade, the default course code CP3209 will be retained, and CP3209R will be dropped without penalty.
Contact
For further inquiries pertaining to REx, please submit to: pvobox66@nus.edu.sg
