Undergraduate Research Opportunities

Type of Work & Tasks to Be Assigned

Students will participate in the full range of lab activities which may include including running assays, isolating bioactive compounds, assisting with research subjects, keeping a detailed lab notebook, presenting at weekly lab meetings, developing a formal presentation of research results and helping with daily lab clean-up and maintenance.

Duration of Project

Students will typically complete their hands-on 10-week program between June 23 and September 5 (11-week window) with most students starting June 23 and ending August 29. Students needing exceptions to these dates can discuss options with their faculty advisor and program coordinators.

Employment will begin June 1 so that students can complete required laboratory training and orientation activities prior to beginning lab work. Please be sure to review important employment requirements under How to Apply section. 

At the conclusion of the program, student researchers will present their work at the College of Pharmacy Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium scheduled for September 5, 2025.

Location

Research labs focusing on drug discovery and gene regulation and disease are available in Corvallis while labs focusing on targeted drug delivery, clinical pharmacokinetics and health outcomes research are primarily available in Portland.

Housing Arrangements

Housing is the student’s responsibility. Summer sublets are usually available in Corvallis between June and September. For those based in Portland, this bulletin board has links to rental listings and rooms shares. Students located outside of Corvallis/Portland will need to secure housing at their location. 

Funding

A limited number of funded positions are available at Oregon's minimum wage. Additional applicants may be accepted to the program with outside funding support. Funded students will be paid at current wage rates ($14.70/hr Corvallis or $15.95/hr Portland) for hours worked. Students are allowed a maximum of 20 paid hours per week for a maximum of 200 hours (budget permitting).

Eligibility

No specific pre-requisites are required except an interest in pursuing a career in biomedical research in pharmaceutical sciences.

How to Apply:

1. Contact a Pharmaceutical Sciences or Pharmacy Practice faculty member whose research interests you and secure their support for your application through a letter of support. Faculty will submit this letter directly to program coordinators. Current faculty can be found in the College of Pharmacy Directory.
2. Prepare a 1-page letter of interest discussing your research interests in pharmaceutical sciences or pharmacy practice research, any preparation you may have for conducting research, and your career goals.
3. Secure transcripts that indicate your cumulative GPA to date. Unofficial transcripts are permitted.
4. Submit your letter of interest and transcripts via email to Noelle Cummings ([email protected]) and Dr. BJ Philmus ([email protected]) with the subject line ‘2025 SURF Application’.
5. Applications from students are due Friday, May 2, 2024, 5:00pm.

Notification of application status will be sent to applicants mid-May.

Employment Requirements

Students will need to be employed by the College of Pharmacy in order to receive funding. The hiring process requires multiple forms of unexpired, valid identity documents, which may include a driver license, passport, government issued photo ID, and/or Social Security card. All forms of ID must be original. Photocopies, faxes, and digital images are not accepted. Students should plan ahead to have their identity documents available for the hiring process which will take place May 19-June 2. See Form I-9 Acceptable Documents for full list of acceptable documents. Students will typically need one item from List A or one item each from List B and C.

Students may not begin working in the program until they have been cleared to work by OSU Student Employment.