Apply Now for Spring 2021 UURC: Deadline Is December 14

Every spring, Penn IUR sponsors the Undergraduate Urban Research Colloquium (UURC), an advanced seminar that pairs undergraduates with faculty or advanced PhD candidates to conduct urban-focused research. The deadline to apply for the Spring 2021 cohort is December 14.

Students receive credits through the Department of City and Regional Planning in the Weitzman School of Design or through the Urban Studies Program in the School of Arts and Sciences. The UURC course sponsors up to 10 research projects each spring, with grant funds of up to $2,000 available to support new and/or existing research efforts.

UURC student-faculty collaborations have yielded publications in refereed journals, leveraged additional research funding, and prepared undergraduates to pursue original research (both as an extension of the UURC project and in other areas of study).

“I found this course extremely valuable,” said Trae Jordan, Master of City Planning student and participant in the Spring 2020 program. “UURC helped me to better understand the importance of understanding how to read research papers and how to apply research findings to real-world solutions.” Jordan studied equity in disaster risk management in Kansas City and Miami with mentor Sam Geldin, doctoral candidate in City and Regional Planning, Weitzman School of Design.

Past research projects have ranged from an assessment of gender and the financialization of the criminal justice system, to an analysis of access to Philadelphia’s senior centers, to a study of barriers to walking in disadvantaged neighborhoods. To learn more about the breadth of research that is eligible and read about the projects undertaken by the Spring 2020 cohort, click here.

Students from each of the University’s undergraduate schools (Arts and Sciences, Engineering and Applied Science, Nursing, and Wharton) and faculty and doctoral students from across the University’s 12 schools are eligible to participate. For instructions on applying, click here.