Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme (UROP)

Notes for Staff

Funding Status

UROP students are awarded a bursary of £2300 usually for 10 weeks, to cover their accommodation and expenses, thus staff should allow £2,300 per UROP or a pro-rata amount for shorter or longer projects. (Note: UROPs do not attract overheads - see 'Running the Project' section.)

Projects should be submitted as soon as possible, preferably by the start of the Easter Term. Further UROPs may be proposed at any time until the end of the Easter Term.

How to offer a UROP this summer.

  1. Advertising your Project
    Projects may be added to this website at any time between now and the end of the Easter Term.
    Please send the following information to Igor Wowk:

    • Project Title
    • Name and email of Lead Supervisor, and host Department
    • Co-supervisor details, if any (name, email and home Department)
    • Project Description (150 words maximum)
    • Any restrictions for your project:
      • Specify if your UROP is only suitable for particular students (e.g. 3rd year students; or those who have completed a certain Tripos; or those specialising in a particular discipline, etc)
      • Timing issues (e.g. if there are specific dates involved for applications, or for the project itself)

    • Does this UROP offer an opportunity to continue/develop into a 4th year project?
    • Links to relevant supporting information on the web (or attach a Word document or pdf to be posted with a link from your project description)
    • Your UROP's Funding Situation. Please indicate:
      • your source of funds (e.g. research council grant, EU or US research grant, industrial company, charitable foundation, own job number, etc)


  2. Recruiting Students
    Students will be informed by email that the UROP website is open before the start of the Easter Term.

    Please note the following:

    • Applications to the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme scheme are limited to Cambridge University undergraduate students who must have at least one year of study to complete before graduation. Final year students due to graduate in the summer are NOT eligible as they are not undergraduates any more.

    • Some funding sources may have certain criteria such as EPSRC funded projects which are restricted mainly to EU citizens

    • Supervisors are free either to accept the first suitable student who makes contact, or to tell applicants that a selection decision will be made on a particular date.

    • Project start and end dates are negotiable and are to be agreed between student and supervisor (although it is usual for a UROP to last 10 weeks in order to give a reasonably extended period of research).

    • It is assumed that students will work on the project for a "normal" working week, i.e. five days a week, circa 7/8 hours per day. Staff and students should negotiate an agreed schedule prior to the commencement of the project.

Once a student has been selected, arrangements for project administration will differ for each Department. For ENGINEERING see the notes below.
For all other Departments ask the designated contact given on the Main Page Click here for the list of contacts

Project organisation and Administration For ENGINEERING STAFF

Administrative responsibility for UROP in CUED lies with Mr Igor Wowk (iw10000@cam.ac.uk). The CUED academic co-ordinator is Dr Hugh Shercliff (hrs@eng.cam.ac.uk). Staff are welcome to raise any queries with either of them.

  1. Once you have selected a student.

    • Email Igor Wowk to request that your project be marked as 'TAKEN' on the Website and send the following details, if you have not done so already:

      1. The student's Name, email, College, and their current year of study and Tripos.

      2. Confirm the Job Number / account code (eg cost centre + source of funds) from which you will pay the student.

      3. Confirm the duration and agreed start date of the project.

    • You should then ask the student to download & complete a set of forms (UROP Coversheet, Project Agreement, Intellectual Property and Risk Assessment) confirming their participation and giving other details of the scheme. The forms are located on the "Notes For Students" Pages.
    • You need to complete these forms with the student and return them to Igor Wowk before the UROP starts.
    • Additional Note F A O non-CUED UROP supervisors: for safety and security reasons, students undertaking a project at a Department that is different to their Tripos should also complete that Department's standard 'recording the presence of workers' form before the UROP begins. (Please note that this is for departmental purposes, rather than UROP purposes.)

  2. Running the Project
    Running a UROP carries the usual responsibility associated with supervising any undergraduate project work in the lab. Key advantages of the UROP Scheme are that students are deemed to be receiving training and being paid a bursary. They do not pay tax or National Insurance, and projects do not attract overheads or require a contract. Overseas students do not require a work permit as long as they are registered Cambridge University undergraduates. Staff should make suitable arrangements with the students regarding attendance and completion of projects. Students will be informed in their introductory letter of the above nature of the placement and associated payments. Arrangements for UROP monitoring and payment are as follows:

    • UROP students will receive bursary payments directly into their bank accounts.

    • The bursary is paid out weekly @ £230 per week for the duration of the UROP. Payments for CUED-based projects will be initiated by Igor Wowk.[Igor Wowk should be informed of any non-standard arrangements, or any change to the arrangements initially agreed.]

    • Students are told on appointment that they must work to an acceptable technical standard and devote an agreed amount of time to the project. Supervisors should warn students if their performance gives cause for concern, and they may terminate the UROP if performance remains unsatisfactory.

    • UROPs will be terminated immediately should any student cease to be registered for the following academic year (e.g. by failing in the Tripos).

  3. The Final Report
    Supervisors will normally expect students to write up a report at the end of their UROP project. This is for the benefit of both staff (for their records) and student (as an essential part of their research training). As projects will vary greatly from one another, it is important that the supervisor gives clear guidance of what is required in the final report.

    Final payment will be withheld until the two-page report has been received.

  4. Organisation of funds to pay students
    To simplify the administration, supervisors will be asked to transfer funds into a single UROP job number, from which students will be paid. Any changes to the source of funds are therefore a matter for the supervisor, not the UROP administrator. Students will not be paid until a funding transfer has been made.

(See also the Notes for Students page for more information, and for samples of the paperwork to be completed.)