UF named top undergraduate research institution
The University of Florida was chosen as a recipient of the 2023 Campus-Wide Award for Undergraduate Research Accomplishments (AURA).
The Council on Undergraduate Research awards higher education institutions that exemplify excellence and have high quality, successful undergraduate research programs. The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University and Worchester Polytechnic Institute were chosen alongside UF.
“The 2023 AURA recipients reflect achievements as leaders in undergraduate research that set their institutions apart,” said Lindsay Currie, Council on Undergraduate Research’s executive officer. “Each awardee has demonstrated a diverse portfolio of undergraduate research programs, building a culture around undergraduate research in their overall curriculums that increases engagement and practice, and investing in student-faculty recognition. These institutions exemplified steadfast commitment, no matter their size.”
The council chose UF because of its programs that focus on high school students like the Summer Science Training Program — a seven week residential research program for high school seniors who are considering science, medicine, math, computer science or engineering careers — and on incoming students like UF Quest — required courses that ask students to consider why the world is the way it is and what they can do about the problems confronting us. These early research experiences extend to transfer and UF Online students.
Forty percent of undergraduates report completing a research project in one of UF’s wide range of undergraduate research programs by the time they graduate.
UF Provost Scott Angle said, “Undergraduate students have played an essential role in the University of Florida surpassing 1 billion dollars in research expenditures. The UF AURA award is an acknowledgment that our amazing students are doing amazing research here at UF. The research is making Florida better today and training better citizens to make a better future.”
Now in its ninth year, the award draws on the Council on Undergraduate Research’s Characteristics of Excellence in Undergraduate Research, which outlines criteria for exceptional undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative activity programs. For recognition, universities must demonstrate depth and breadth in their undergraduate research initiatives and evidence of continual innovation.
There will be a virtual celebration of this award on June 11, 2024 from 2-3:30 p.m. ET.