Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) at RWTH Aachen University
Opportunity Description:
UROP International is designed for students from North American universities who wish to gain research experience by conducting research projects at RWTH Aachen University. It takes place during a ten-week research summer school between the middle of May and the end of July.
UROP International consists of three components:
- A research project at one of RWTH Aachen's research institutes or labs.
- An intensive German course and workshops on intercultural learning, scientific methods, and research practice.
- Leisure activities to gain a look at German history and culture and meet German and international students at RWTH. Regular get togethers, excursions in the region, institute visits, and much more, form the framework of the students' stay in Aachen.
The program’s duration is ten weeks. The first week is dedicated to a Fit for UROP workshop, introducing participants to research and culture, as well as to an intercultural training, which allows the students to gain an initial impression of German culture and informs about intercultural differences. Moreover, the first week is used to settle organizational issues and to make students familiar with RWTH Aachen University and with life in Aachen. Each student is assigned a RWTH student, who serves as a buddy and mentor during the first steps in Aachen.
From the second week to the end of the program, students work on their research project full time. The German language course starts during the first week and ends at the end of the eighth week. It takes place twice a week in the morning. The program is supplemented by numerous leisure activities and excursions with the buddies.
All communication is in English.
Students will receive a certificate for both their research project and the language class upon successful completion of the program, marked by the submission of a report and participation in the closing UROP Symposium, where students present project results as part of a research conference. A total of 60 students can annually participate in UROP International.
Minimum Qualifications and/or Eligibility Requirements:
Undergraduate students from North American universities who have a GPA of 3.2 or higher are welcome to apply to UROP International. Ideally you are sophomore or junior at the time of application but freshmen and seniors are also welcome to participate in the program. A total of 60 students can participate in UROP International each year.
German language skills are not required to participate. Based on your German skills, you will be assigned to an appropriate German class; the program offers up to four different levels of courses.
Application Process:
Research project supervisors publish their project ideas in the UROP projects database. There you can look at the complete offering and apply for a maximum of two different projects. The database contains projects for UROP International as well as projects of the two other program parts RWTH UROP and UROP Abroad. Thus, when searching the database, please activate the filter "UROP International" on the left-hand side.
After choosing any projects from the projects database, please register via our MoveON database. Here you can apply for up to two projects from the projects database. Please also upload the following application documents in PDF format:
- Resume
- Letter of motivation (separate letter for each project)
- Letter of recommendation
- Transcript
Every year, the database is updated in November. During the update, old entries are deleted and new projects are added. Hence, please do not apply before the end of November because the content of the database may still be subject to change.
The annual application deadline for UROP International is January 10. All application documents have to be submitted by this date. Your application automatically serves as an application for a scholarship as well.
We will inform you if a project supervisor selected you and whether you would receive a scholarship no later than the first week in March. You then have a week to let us know if you would like to participate. Afterwards, potential alternates are informed.
Over the course of the month of March we will organize details like your room in a student dorm and your enrollment and will hold an online info session, where you can ask questions and get all the important details regarding your stay in Aachen.