The word “research” can sound intimidating. It can conjure images of sterile labs, dusty archives, or senior theses built on equipment too expensive to touch and data sets too complex to understand. But at Duke, that doesn’t have to be the case. That’s where the Undergraduate Research Support (URS) Office comes in. Tucked in the basement of the Allen Building, the URS Office supports Duke Trinity undergraduates in all things research.

What is the URS Office?

The URS Office is a central hub for student-based research. Run by a small but mighty team of Dr. Jessica Harrell (Director of URS Office), Sarah Koop (Program Coordinator) and T-STARs (Trinity Student Team for Advancing Research), it serves to connect students with various opportunities and, crucially, provide the training and funding to turn academic interests into meaningful research. 

So whether you have a fully-formed thesis or just the first spark of an idea, the URS Office is designed to be your first stop. Regardless of major, background, or experience, the URS office ensures every student is informed about the opportunity to engage in research!

‍From Idea to Impact: How the URS Supports You

The URS supports you throughout your research journey in two main ways. The first is funding. Money shouldn’t be a barrier to research at Duke, and the URS office seeks to make that a reality through a variety of funding opportunities—from URS Assistantships, which provide wage support for those working as research assistants for a faculty member, to Independent Study Grants and Trinity Summer Undergraduate Mentored Research (T-SUMR) Fellowships awarding up to $500 and $5000, respectively.

The help doesn’t stop there. The URS office also provides funding and opportunities for budding researchers to showcase their research to the world. The URS Conference Award grants up to $800 to present research at regional/national conferences, helping cover costs of registration and travel. Not a fan of traveling? No worries. The URS office also holds the Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, where you can present your research at a “celebration of ongoing research from across campus being conducted by our talented undergraduate students.”

Above: The 2025 Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. Image courtesy of the URS Office.

But what if I’m not currently connected to a faculty member?

That’s okay, the URS Office can help you get connected. The Office offers a variety of workshops that help students find research opportunities. They host presentations with national laboratories, research and development workshops for summer research, and a series of workshops called LYRE, offered to “all undergraduate students conducting or interested in embarking on a research path at Duke” (though they are currently paused, they are possibly resuming in Spring 2026).

The URS office also has other tools students can use in finding research, from student research stories that can inspire, to a whole guide on getting started with research. Not sure what to put in that cold email? Go take a look at the sample templates on their website.

For any lingering questions, students can drop in during the URS office hours, usually held in 005 Allen Building, or join the listserv and read about new opportunities from the comfort of their dorm rooms. Whatever your question, the URS Office is ready to help you get started.