Most undergraduate research at UCLA happens with a faculty member, not inside a club. URC-Sciences puts it plainly: joining a lab is less like registering for a class and more like finding a job, and the center itself does not directly place students in labs. What it recommends instead is building a research network, and one of the ways it names is joining a student research organization. That is the job clubs do well. They introduce you to people already in labs, teach you to read and review research, and give you project work to point to when you email a professor.
The two research centers
UCLA has two Undergraduate Research Centers. URC-Sciences covers the life sciences, physical sciences and engineering. URC-HASS covers the humanities, arts and social sciences. Together they say they support 4,000 undergraduates a year through workshops, courses, scholarships and research programs, and more than 1,700 students present at the Undergraduate Research & Creativity Showcase each year. Undergraduate Research Week is in May.
The two fields work differently. In the sciences, a new student researcher usually joins an ongoing project in a faculty member's lab and is often trained by postdocs and graduate students. In the humanities, arts and social sciences, URC-HASS says students are more likely to run a project of their own design under a faculty mentor. It also points to open research assistant positions on the Career Center's 12twenty site, listed under the employer "UCLA Undergraduate Research Centers."
Both centers run the Student Research Program, SRP-99, which gives you credit for research supervised by UCLA faculty. You have to find the faculty member first; the course does not place you. During the academic year, 3 to 5 hours a week earns one unit and 6 to 10 hours earns two. The contract, signed by your mentor, is due on Friday of week 2 of the quarter. Graduate students and postdocs cannot sign as your mentor. URC-Sciences holds drop-in office hours Monday through Thursday, 10 am to 1 pm, in Life Sciences 2121.
Research societies that connect you to labs
A few clubs exist mainly to help undergraduates get started. CURE offers mentorship and workshops on getting involved in research. You can fill out its 2026-27 interest form, or apply as a mentee or as a mentor. PULSAR pairs undergraduates with graduate student mentors in the life sciences; undergraduates join its mailing list and Discord and fill out an interest form. Graduate students are often the ones who train new lab members, so this is a direct way to meet them.
Others are communities for students already doing research, or close to it. Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Association holds monthly seminars, offers student-to-student mentorship and runs an annual symposium. Its mailing list covers events, and its board has a separate application. SACNAS works to recruit and support students from groups underrepresented in science, and you join with its general member form. If you are a transfer student, start with Transfer Research Connection and the transfer guide.
A few programs place students in research directly. CTSI-RAP places undergraduates in clinical research with investigators at UCLA Health, with mentorship, through a fall application. The pre-med guide covers it and similar clinical programs.
Student journals: review research before you have your own
Journal staff review and edit other students' research. The work teaches you how papers are built, and it does not require a lab. The Undergraduate Science Journal is a peer-reviewed STEM journal advised by URC-Sciences. Its staff application is open to undergraduates of all years, and staff receive upper-division course credit; for 2026-27, general staff applications were due October 16. Aleph is its humanities and social sciences counterpart. URC-HASS says students who want to join Aleph's staff for 2026-27 should email the student editors at alephjournal@ucla.edu.
Field journals work the same way on a smaller scale. Undergraduate Research Journal of Psychology publishes undergraduate psychology and neuroscience research and hires staff through a 2026-27 application. Bruin Undergraduate Policy Review publishes evidence-based policy writing, takes all undergraduates by application with no formal writing experience required, and accepts new members at the start of each quarter. Catalyst publishes undergraduate research and career stories in STEM and takes contributors by application. Once you have results of your own, journals like these are where you submit them. The student media guide covers the rest of UCLA's publications.
Data clubs: project work you can show
Data clubs produce analysis rather than faculty research, but the skills carry into many labs. DataRes has teams for learning, blogging, research, consulting and teaching, and opens applications for every subteam at the start of each quarter. Its DataLearn program has a separate registration. National Student Data Corps aims its projects and workshops at students newer to the field. It is open to all: you join its Slack. The Statistics Students Association also uses Slack for membership and helps organize the annual ASA DataFest hackathon.
For applied projects with a real client, Biokind Analytics does data work for healthcare nonprofits in Los Angeles and takes members by application. The tech and engineering guide covers more selective data and project teams.
A plan for one quarter
- Watch URC-Sciences' Getting into Research workshop, which covers finding a faculty mentor in the sciences. For humanities, arts and social sciences, URC-HASS runs the Cornerstone workshop series, on Zoom this fall.
- Join one research society's list, such as CURE, PULSAR or UIRA, and go to one of its events. Ask the students there how they found their lab.
- Make a list of five to ten faculty whose work interests you; URC-Sciences recommends at least that many. Read something each has published, then email them with your CV and a short note on why their work interests you.
- While you wait for replies, apply to a journal or data team that recruits each quarter. It gives you skills to mention in your next email.
- Once a faculty member agrees to mentor you, submit your SRP-99 contract by Friday of week 2 of the quarter you start.
Club deadlines change every year, so check each group's How to join note before you plan around a date.