Online and Remote Research

Check out Handshake, which can be used to find research positions, internships, employment opportunities, and networking events that are currently accepting applications!

What is Handshake?

1. Handshake is a free-to-use online platform that undergraduates can use to find on-campus and/or off-campus workshops, jobs, internships, research experiences, and events.
2. Students must use their UA NetID to create and log into your Handshake account.
3. For more tips and tricks on how to utilize Handshake in your research journey, please visit here.

How can I use Handshake to find online and remote opportunities? 

1. Log in Handshake with your UA NetID in order to access the main home page.
2. On the left-hand side bar, click on Jobs.
3. Go to All Filters and scroll down to the bottom until you see the heading Labeled by your school.
4. In the search bar that is below the Labeled by your school heading, search undergraduate research in order to see the research opportunities that the URA staff has tagged.
5. On the top bar, go to the on-site/remote drop-down heading and filter by remote - work from home.

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The UA Researchers Database is an online list of UA faculty from every academic department that welcome undergraduates students into their research projects. The database is updated regularly with new faculty who are interested in welcoming undergraduate students into their research projects on- or off-campus. Faculty can now indicate their ability to offer remote and online opportunities.

We recommend using our Faculty Profiles resource in conjunction with the UA Researchers Database. While the UA Researcher Database provides brief descriptions of current projects, profiles.arizona.edu provides a convenient and extensive platform for learning more about a faculty member's research interest, current and past projects, publications, classes, and much more. 

How do I use the UA Researchers Database to find online and remote research?

1. Go to our UA Researchers Database, which can be found under our Find Research drop-down heading.
2. You will be able to set your preferences at the top of the database list, such as your preferred College, Department, and Types of Opportunities (e.g. for course credit, paid, volunteer, and/or not given). 
3. You can also type a certain research interest you may have in the Keyword Search area.
4. You can also set your preferred location! In the Research Location menu, choose the Online option. This option was recently added to the database, so not many researchers have responded yet. Please Check again regularly for more online opportunities!
5. Click the Apply option when you have set all your preferences to see the list of faculty that best fits with your own interests and preferences!

How do I use the Faculty Profiles resource to find online and remote research?

There are two ways that you can use the profiles.arizona.edu to find online and remote research opportunities; we will be showing you both!

In Conjunction with the UA Researchers Database:

1. Once you have found a faculty member that you are interested in from the UA Researchers Database, type their name name in the search bar below the Search UA Faculty, Educators, Scholars, and Researchers heading. Sometimes, it takes a long time for the profile to load, so please be patient!
2. After the page has loaded, the faculty member's profile will appear below the search bar. Feel free to explore this informtion, which will include their Biography, Interests in teaching and research, Courses, and Scholarly Contributions, which includes their journals and publications.
3. Before reaching out to the faculty member, we encourage you to read through their research interests as well as explore their publications , such as reading the abstract of their publication, in order to gain a better understanding of their research. If you need help in emailing and reaching out to faculty about research opportunities, please go to this helpful resource.

Only Using the Faculty Profiles:

1. In the search bar below the Search UA Faculty, Educators, Scholars, and Researchers heading, you can search up certain key words that will lead you to faculty profiles that best matches it!
2. Try searching up online and/or remote in the search bar to find faculty profiles that either teach courses or conduct research remotely and/or offer research opportunities that can be done remotely.

There are many online, remote, and virtual research programs available for undergraduate students across a broad variety of research interests. These programs can be summer or academic year and are offered by a number of universities. Please read each program carefully for their description, application requirements, and program dates. This section will be updated regularly as more online programs become available for the summer.

Online Programs for 2024-25

For other online summer research programs, please visit the AAMC's list of Summer Undergraduate Research and the NSF's list of Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs).

Stanford Center for Asian Health Research and Education (CARE) Scholars

Description: The Stanford Center for Asian Health Research and Education (CARE) offers an immersive online course in Asian Health for undergraduate and graduate students, featuring a 9-week summer focus on Data Science and Vulnerable Populations. The program trains scholars in population science research, equipping them with skills in database analysis, healthcare research, and problem-solving in vulnerable populations. It emphasizes collaboration with various stakeholders and covers topics like Asian health, medical technology, AI, global health, research essentials, innovation, leadership, scholarship, presentation skills, and career development. Students will also be able to build valuable connections within Stanford CARE's global network and present their research at the annual Stanford's CARE Summer Research Symposium.

Application Requirements: $75 application fee

Deadline: January 10th, 2025

Program Dates: June 2025-August 2025

Texas A&M University Department of Material Sciences & Engineering Online Research Experience for Undergraduates (O-REU)

Description: The Texas A&M University is pleased to offer an online REU (O-REU) program in partnership with Los Alamos National Laboratory. During the summer, students are expected to participate (40 hours/week) and are remunerated $5000 for the summer. All activities are carried out fully remotely: there are no in-person meetings and no residency requirement. Travel support for one site visit will also be made available. O-REU is open to US citizens and permanent residents currently pursuing bachelor's degrees.

Application Requirements: 1 page resume, recent electronic transcript, list of preferred mentors (please consult the faculty interests list), and contact information (name, professional affiliation, email address) of two professional references

Deadline: Friday, April 28th, 2024 at 5:00 PM CST

Program Dates: May 24 to August 4, 2024

Please email the application required materials and/or any inquiries to Ms. Isabel Cantu.

Neoscholar CIS Online Research Program

Description: The CIS online research program is offered throughout the year. A CIS program course usually hosts fifteen students, who are divided into small research groups. The program is generally 24 hours with our professors across ten weeks, including 2 hours of lectures in each of the first six weeks and 3 hours of research seminars in each of the last four weeks. Each course will be assigned an experienced instructor to provide academic instruction sessions and research guidance to students. 

Application Requirements: Please access the application form and be able to answer its secondary questions.

Deadline: N/A

Program Dates: N/A

Please email any questions or request a brochure from hello@neoscholar.us.

Crowdmath

Description: CrowdMath is an online, open project that gives all college students the opportunity to collaborate on a large research project with top-tier research mentors and an exceptional peer group. MIT PRIMES and Art of Problem Solving are working together to create a place for students to experience research mathematics and discover ideas that did not exist before.

Application Requirements: Please create a free account to participate.

Deadline: N/A

Program Dates: N/A

Please email any questions to crowdmath@aops.com.

Pembroke College of Cambridge Online Summer Research Programme

Description:  The Online Summer Research Programme offers you the unique opportunity to experience the renowned Cambridge style of teaching from anywhere in the world. It’s a real opportunity to challenge yourself academically and develop deep subject knowledge, working one-to-one with an expert in the field. From cyber warfare to the economic viability of Obamacare, we almost cover it all on our Subject Stream and for everything we don’t, you’re able to propose your own research topics on our Open Stream. Outside of supervisions, you’ll also connect and make friendships with other students on the programme through online networking events.  

Application Requirements: Have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.2, have finished your first-year of college, and have high level of English Fluency. Please visit the application site to see what other application materials are required (e.g. transcript, project form).

Deadline: TBA

Program Dates: July 1st-28th, 2024

Please email any questions to osrp@pem.cam.ac.uk.

BeMo^® 4-Month & 1-Year Research Programs

Description: BeMo^® offers many different types of online research projects for all undergraduate students that will best prepare them for their application to medical school.

• Online Independent Research Program: You can get research experience that makes your application stand out from the comfort of your home and have weekly meetings online via video conference with your team of research committee members. You can choose between the 4-months or the 1-year research program to conduct a literature review research project on a high impact topic hand selected by the PhDs.
• Step-by-Step Guided Research: The BeMo® team of research experts will help you each step of the way from choosing the best research topic to scientific research methodology to presentation and publication. Each week you'll meet for private one-on-one consultations to go over your research and get specific guidance and feedback as your progress.
• High-Impact Research Projects: You can research high-impact topics, such as Psychiatric, COVID-19, Substance-abuse, Vaccines, COPD, Heart Disease, Diabetes, Ulcerative Colitis, Stroke, Heart Attack, Asthma, Obesity, Women’s Health, Cancer, and more.
• Master Scientific Research Methodology: You will attend 6 guided workshops and complete 5 exercises to learn research methodology, literature search, data analysis, scientific communication, research manuscript creation, and research presentation. In the 4-months program you'll attend 15 sessions and in the 1-year program you'll receive 48 sessions to guide you at every step of the way.
• Gain Experience Writing Research Papers: BeMo®  team of research experts will help you complete a research summary paper on your research topic to help you learn the essential principles of scientific inquiry and publication. Your research summary will be published on the BeMo®  website, so you can use it as a reference on your applications and CV.

Application Requirements: You can schedule a free 15-minute initial consultation, where you will be able to talk about what option of research is the best fit for you. Prices for these research projects are listed on their website.

Deadline: N/A

Program Dates: N/A

The University of Arizona Library is available online for all UA undergraduate students. Students will be able to find wide variety of online resources, such as research journals, course guides, tutorials for library research, and much more. This section will provide a brief overview of resources that are available and important for online and remote researchers. Please also explore the UA Library Online & Distance Students site, which provides information on research resources, on how to develop your research skill. 

How can I find online research resources?

There are many different ways on how to find online research through the UA Library site. You will be able to access these online resources for free with your NetID and password.

• Use the library search engine to find both print and online content, including articles, books, ebooks, films, and more. You can type any keywords that may aid you in your search in the search bar at the top of the screen.
• Find research articles & journals through free out-of-site sources, such as Google Scholar, Academic Search Ultimate, etc.
  • You can also search through the online A-Z database to find a specific resource based on subject, database type, vendor/provider, and keyword (e.g. description or title). 
• Discover different types of resources besides journal and articles, such as books, films, geospatial data, and much more. This website lists many sites that are dedicated to finding a resource of a certain type, such as manuals, biographies, etc. 
  • If you are unable to find what you need through the website, you can also receive a free library card at your local library, such as at Pima County Public Library, if you are a local resident.
• Finally, you can search for academic resources that are tailored to your discipline. This site features many guides that are categorized by course number (e.g. ENG 101), subject (e.g. General Chemistry), and topic (e.g. AI literacy). You can also search for a specific guide using the search bar near the bottom of the webpage. 

How can I learn and/or improve my research skills?

The UA Library has made quick video tutorials, articles, and quizzes that can teach you skills on how to be a better researcher, through both academics and research. These videos are meant to build your foundation in research, such as how to cite empirical articles, how to evaluate online information, how to find a research interest/topic, etc! Please explore the Learn with Tutorials webpage from the UA Library in order to delve deeper into the resources our online library has to offer! The UA Library also offer support for any researchers, such as funding & networking opportunities, research proposal plans, management of citations, publishing opportunities, and much more!

Not sure how to find an online research opportunity that suits your interests? Need help reaching out to faculty?

The Undergraduate Research Ambassador (URA) Team is here to support you on any step of your research journey. The URA Team URAs are able to provide one-on-one support to students who would like individualized help in exploring possibilities, communicating with a research mentor, sharing their research ideas, or preparing an application for a research program.

How can I individually meet with an URA?

There are many ways for undergraduate students, who are online and/or remote, to receive one-and-one support from URAs at any step of their research journey:

1. Sign up for a 1:1 meeting! Schedule your appointment through Handshake. Meetings are available through zoom and usually last 30 minutes! Appointments can be made throughout the week, including weekends!
2. Send an email! Write any questions, thoughts, or concerns to undergradresearch@arizona.edu. You can also send us email drafts, research program applications, resumes, etc for us to review for you!
3. Check out other SECD resources! The Student Engagement & Career Development (SECD) also provides individualized support on preparing your resume, CV, or cover letter for any applications through Lifelab, which appointments can also be made through Handshake with a Career Educator or Career Peer Coach. 

Online Course-Based Research Experiences for Fall 2024

APCV361: Data Analysis and Visualization

Description: Data Analysis and Visualization will lay a foundation for students to understand how to process, analyze, and visualize data.  Topics include data collection and integration, exploratory data analysis, statistical inference and modeling, machine learning, and data visualization.  The emphasis of the course topics will be placed on integration and synthesis of concepts and their application to solving problems.  Students will explore these topics using software tools.

Prerequisites: College of Applied Science & Technology (CAST) student, APCV 302 and APCV 320, Prior Python programming

Credits: 3 credits

Other Information: Asynchronous online, optional weekly meetings

Instructor: Dr. Li Xu, College of Applied Science & Technology

BAT/ENGR/CALS 102 | Data Science Heroes: An Undergraduate Research Experience in Open Data Science Practices

Description: Despite a growing demand for data scientists, university training in science ethics, code licensing and best reproducibility practices are not generalized for undergraduates. In this Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE), students will conduct an assessment of the current landscape and the evolution of accessibility, documentation and reproducibility practices in bioinformatics. The CURE will be a two-credit course in the Department of Biosystems Engineering accessible to students from any college. Students will learn and reflect upon best practices for open science and science reproducibility. Several practical skills will also be developed such as science communication, as well as the use of computational tools for code versioning and documentation.

Prerequisites: None

Credits: 3 credits

Other Information: Asynchronous online

Instructor: Dr. Bonnie Hurwitz, Dr. Alise Ponsero, College of Engineering

HWRS 349A&B/350 | Principles of Hydrology

Description: Students in this course will work to answer the question: “Do monsoon storms start later in the day than they did decades ago?” This question has been raised by numerous long-time Tucson citizens, who insist that monsoon storms start in the late evening (after sunset) rather than 3-5pm. While this started as a pedestrian question, it also has meteorological and practical implications if it is in fact true. The in-person class is a hands-on Collaborative Learning course, and there is a practical, applied lab with several field trips, many of which involve interaction with hydrology & atmospheric science professionals. Some examples of field trips for the lab include: Stream gaging with the US Geological Survey; A tour of the National Weather Survey office and a weather balloon launch; A tour of Biosphere2's Landscape Evolution Observatory (LEO) Project; and more! This is an excellent course to gain a broad, applied understanding of virtually every subdiscipline in hydrology!

Prerequisites: Calculus I (MATH 113 or MATH 122A&B)

Credits: 3 Credits

Other Information: Online

Instructor: Dr. Martha Whitaker, College of Science

LING 2/3/499: Community-led Language Technology Development

Description: Students will join a community-based language technology development project, the Coeur d’Alene Online Language Resource Center (COLRC), as an example of a community lead language technology development project that focuses on the needs of a low-resource, minoritized language community. Depending on their skills and interests, participating students will enroll for 1 to 3 credits, at a course level (299, 399, 499) appropriate to their experience, and be assigned to assist in the development and deployment process. The project supports students who wish to develop skills in linguistic analysis and language activism, along with at least one of the following technical skills: coding for frontend, backend, rest interfaces, and scripting (javascript, python); database development (postgres, graphQL); and/or natural language processing (ingest, tokenization, annotation tasks using lum.ai/odinson libraries). Interested students should have at least some familiarity with and enjoyment of coding, but need not have significant experience or expertise in these areas. Students who are members of minoritized or low resource language communities will bring particularly valuable experience and expertise to this work, but any undergraduate student is welcome to participate

Prerequisites: None

Credits: 1-3 credits

Other Information: Asynchronous Online

Instructor: Amy V Fountain, College of Humanities

Online Course-Based Research Experiences for Spring 2025

APCV361: Data Analysis and Visualization

Description: Data Analysis and Visualization will lay a foundation for students to understand how to process, analyze, and visualize data. Topics include data collection and integration, exploratory data analysis, statistical inference and modeling, machine learning, and data visualization. The emphasis of the course topics will be placed on integration and synthesis of concepts and their application to solving problems. Students will explore these topics using software tools.

Prerequisites: College of Applied Science & Technology (CAST) student, APCV 302 and APCV 320, Prior Python programming

Credits: 3 credits

Other Information: Asynchronous online, optional weekly meetings

Instructor: Dr. Li Xu, College of Applied Science & Technology

LING2/3/499: Community-Led Language Technology Development 

Description: Students will join a community-based language technology development project, the Coeur d’Alene Online Language Resource Center (COLRC), as an example of a community lead language technology development project that focuses on the needs of a low-resource, minoritized language community. Depending on their skills and interests, participating students will enroll for 1 to 3 credits, at a course level (299, 399, 499) appropriate to their experience, and be assigned to assist in the development and deployment process. The project supports students who wish to develop skills in linguistic analysis and language activism, along with at least one of the following technical skills: coding for frontend, backend, rest interfaces, and scripting (javascript, python); database development (postgres, graphQL); and/or natural language processing (ingest, tokenization, annotation tasks using lum.ai/odinson libraries). Interested students should have at least some familiarity with and enjoyment of coding, but need not have significant experience or expertise in these areas. Students who are members of minoritized or low resource language communities will bring particularly valuable experience and expertise to this work, but any undergraduate student is welcome to participate

Prerequisites: None

Credits: 1-3 credits 

Other information: Students interested in enrolling should email Dr. Amy Fountain at avf@arizona.edu

Instructor: Dr. Amy Fountain, College of Humanities

Online UA Research Labs & Projects for Spring 2024

If you are interested in any of these opportunities, you will need to contact the faculty member in charge of the project. Please read our tips on writing an email to faculty or schedule a 1:1 Handshake appointment with an URA for personal support on drafting emails.

For other online research opportunities by UA faculty, please visit our extensive database of professors conducting online research and welcoming undergraduate students.

Dr. Dalal Alharthi - Cybersecurity and related fields

Description: Preferred interest in Cloud Security; Penetration Testing; Incident Response; Human-Computer Interaction (HCI); Privacy; and Cybersecurity Education. Interdisciplinary Research opportunities are available in the intersection between the area of Cybersecurity and several areas such as Computer Science; Public Administration; Business Administration; and Education.

Prerequisites: None

Types of Opportunities: Volunteer, For Credit

Commitment:  If volunteering, you should commit to 6 hours or more per week. For credit, you may enroll in an Independent Study course.

Principal Investigator: Dr. Dalal Alharthi, Computer Science

Alicja Babst-Kostecka - Plant Environmental & Genomic Adaptation

Description: My research combines genetic, phenotypic, and environmental information in an integrated framework to study plant adaptation to changing environmental conditions. I am particularly interested in the mechanisms that allow certain plant species to colonize industrially contaminated habitats at former mining sites. These species thereby undergo rapid genetic and physiological adaptation. Specifically, they have evolved the ability to tolerate and sometimes accumulate remarkable amounts of metal trace elements – traits that I am studying in both field and controlled laboratory experiments. My interdisciplinary work sets the stage for mitigating the legacies of industrial exploitation. By advancing the molecular basis of phytoremediation and biofortification efforts, I strive to contribute to improving environmental and human health.

Prerequisites: None

Types of Opportunities: Volunteer, For Credit, Paid

Commitment: N/A

Principal Investigator: Dr. Alicja Babst-Kosetecka, Environmental Science

Mixed Augmented ViRtual eXtended Reality Laboratory - MA[VR]X

Description: The Mixed Augmented ViRtual eXtended (Reality) Laboratory in the College of Applied Science & Technology is the University of Arizona’s home for research, exploration, and development for alternative and extended reality media and training in southeastern Arizona. We take a very broad view of “extended reality” to include everything from head-mounted display Topics include: Posthuman inquiry, applied post-phenomenology, extended reality, augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality, Web3, metaverse, educational technology, instructional technology, human-computer interaction, cybersecurity, cyber operations, digital identity.

Prerequisites: Preferred interested in extended reality and comfortable with fully remote research. Enrollment in APCV 399 (1-3 credit hours) required.

Types of Opportunities: For Credit

Commitment: 3-9 Hours per week

Principal Investigator: Dr. Ryan Straight, College of Applied Sciences & Technology

Purnima Madhivanan - Public Health & Health Promotional Sciences

Description: Purnima Madhivananis an Associate Professor in Health Promotion Sciences at the Mel & Enid College of Public Health at University of Arizona. A physician by training from Government Medical College in Mysore, she has a MPH and PhD in Epidemiology from the University of California, Berkeley, USA. She completed her post-doctoral training in 2010. She is the Director of Public Health Research Institute of India (PHRII) and is also the Director of the Global Health Equity Scholars (GHES) Training Program in collaboration with Stanford, Yale and University of California, Berkeley. For the past 20 years, her work has focused on disadvantaged populations, elucidating the dynamics of poverty, gender, and the environmental determinants of health, in particular the impact on women and children living in rural communities. She established a clinic in Mysore, India in 2005 while completing her PhD dissertation. For over a decade, the PHRII/Prerana Women’s Health Initiative has delivered low-cost, high-quality reproductive health services to 44,000 low-income women living in Mysore District. Offering a full-service clinic, molecular laboratory and active affiliations with several major tertiary care hospitals, the site is recognized as a research and training site for Global Health. The Saving Children Improving Lives Program focused on increasing integrated antenatal care and HIV testing services for women in rural and tribal communities using mobile clinics with the help of women’s self-help groups to mobilize and follow-up women. This program model was then adapted to provide cervical cancer screening services in the community in India, which is the only community based cervical cancer screening program in India. Dr. Madhivanan’s work focuses on addressing the systemic inequities that put India’s tribal and rural women at-risk for poor health and birth outcomes. Her current work is at the intersection of infectious and chronic diseases with a special focus on cancer. Dr. Madhivanan serves as an advisor to a number of state departments of Public Health, non-profit as well as governmental research organizations. In 2007, she received the prestigious International Leadership Award from the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation for her work on HIV prevention. She has received several awards and honors for mentoring. Dr. Madhivanan’s global health credentials and clinical service has brought unique opportunities for collaboration; most recently benefiting students and faculty interested in learning about Global Health and service in a developing world setting.

Prerequisites: Proficient in Social Media, Website, Technology, MS Office

Types of Opportunities: Volunteer, For Credit

Commitment: N/A

Principal Investigator: Dr. Purmina Madhivanan, Public Health

Noshene Ranjbar - Cultural & Trauma Psychiatry

Description: Interested in integrative medicine; integrative psychiatry; culturally-sensitive and trauma-informed work with underserved, particularly American Indian community and refugees; mind-body medicine; physician wellness and burnout; medical student wellness and burnout; integration of indigenous and modern medicine and healing practices; PTSD and trauma-spectrum disorders

Prerequisites: Pre-Med

Types of Opportunities: Volunteer, For Credit, Paid

Commitment: N/A

Principal Investigator: Dr. Noshene Ranjbar, Integrative Psychiatry Program