UMBC is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a Research University with High Research Activity. With over $75 million per year in research expenditures, we are particularly proud of the extent to which undergraduates benefit from and contribute to our broad research portfolio. As the #6 university for undergraduate teaching (US News), we see involvement in research as a core part of the educational experience we provide our students. Mr. Don Engel, Assistant Vice President for Research, is a member of the GCSP Advisory Board.

Accordingly, UMBC invests heavily in fostering undergraduate research experiences. For our newer students who are not yet ready to propose their own research projects, we provide support to faculty in the form of Undergraduate Research Assistantship Support (URAS) grants, which can be used to support undergraduate research assistants in their first two years at UMBC. When students are ready to propose their own mentored research projects, they are encouraged to apply for grants in our Undergraduate Research Award (URA) program. We organize an annual Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD), at which several hundred students and student teams present their research as a poster or oral presentation.

All GCSP Scholars are expected to complete mentored research on topic related to their selected Grand Challenge, and to present their completed GC-related research at URCAD.  Scholars completing Gold experiences are also expected to prepare and submit a research report to a publication venue such as an academic journal or conference, the UMBC Review (student research journal), or a regional student conference.