The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) aims to become a central resource at CSUN, promoting and supporting student involvement in research activities and creative scholarship. OUR serves as a bridge between students and faculty, fostering an environment where students can enhance their educational experience through research, critical thinking, and hands-on learning.


Visit us in University Library 27 and grab a snack!

The Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), awarded by the National Science Foundation, is one of the nation's most prestigious fellowship programs, providing three years of financial support, over five years, to graduate students who have demonstrated potential for significant achievements in research. Sammie and Jesus were among the 2500 2026 GRFP recipients! 

OUR Grad Peer Mentor, Sammie Ellis, is a first-year graduate student in Chemistry. Research Mentor: Dr. Miao

OUR PODER Scholar, Jesus Poblano, is an undergraduate student in Physics. PODER Mentor: Dr. Bezryadina 

🎉 Congratulations to the 36 PODER Scholars, 10 N-COMPASS Scholars, and the 2 OUR Graduate Peer Mentors presenting their research at the 30th annual CSUNposium! We had a great time listening to your research projects! 🎉 And special congratulations to the winners!

Amy Gharial - First Place - 3-Minute Oral, Session 3
Shakeeb Ghacha - First Place - 10-Minute Oral, Session 7
Samuel Chacon - First Place - 10-Minute Oral, Session 22
Cesar Flores and Mahyar Hashemi-Alavi - Second Place - 10-Minute Oral, Session 22
Leana Tokadzhyan - First Place - Morning Poster Session, Group 7
Christian Guevara - First Place - Morning Poster Session, Group 12
Chimdindu Manafa - First Place - Morning Poster Session, Group 14
Jesus Poblano - First Place - Afternoon Poster Session, Group 33

HSI Innovation tour

Dr. Carlos Ruvalcaba is presenting his research

EOP team giving a campus tour!

Did you know that as part of the annual CSUNposium, CSUN also brings in local high schools?

Yes, for several years now, as part of CSUNposium, local high schools visit the poster session and participate in tours at CSUN! This year, OUR hosted Granada Hills Charter and the Northridge Academy high schools! Tours included the HSI Innovation Hub, research lab tours, and a campus tour!

We are so grateful to everyone who made this day special for the high schoolers: Adriana Garcia Marin (HSI Innovation Hub), Dr. Juana Maria Valdivia (Student Outreach and Recruitment), Jesus Flores (EOP) and his team, Dr. Carlos Ruvalcaba (Mechanical Engineering), Dr. Gilberto Flores (Biology), Samantha and Austin Ellis (Chemistry), Katherine Jimenez (Clinical Psychology), and the N-COMPASS Scholars - Jon, Zara, and Anooshik! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

And a special thanks to Mirranda Salas for printing over 30 posters for CSUNposium!!

OUR-sponsored presenters

All CSUN NCUR presenters

OUR sponsored six undergraduate students to present their research at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) in Richmond, VA! In all, eight CSUN students attended and presented their findings at this interdisciplinary conference organized by the Council on Undergraduate Research.

Aayushi, Code-Switching as a Tool for ESL Reading: A Pilot Study on Speed and Comprehension.

M. Ackerman, Exploring Polyomino Motion: Classification of Amoebic Polyominoes.

R. Aguido, Creation of Yeast Strains to Investigate the Effect of Endonucleases during Anaphase.

J. Poblano, Advancing Raman spectroscopy of micro- and nanoplastics through optical and acoustic trapping.

P. Roney, Using Machine Learning to Predict RISM 1D Equations

L. Weerasinghe, Maternity and the aging brain: Understanding the link between reproductive trauma and dementia risk in women

Sammie sharing resources with prospective Matadors!

The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) participated in the 2026 Admitted Matadors Day Resource Fair on Saturday, April 11th. Hundreds of prospective students stopped by to learn about OUR initiatives and resources and meet the OUR staff: Dr. Gabriela Chavira, Mirranda Salas, and OUR Grad Peer Mentor, Sammie Ellis!

A few CSUN Alumni were amazed by OUR and wished they had the same opportunities back when they were undergraduates! 

Students can take workshops (in-person or via Zoom) to increase their knowledge and skills in five areas: Entry-to-Research, Research Conferences, Professional Development, Responsible Conduct of Research, or Graduate School Preparation. Students can attend individual workshops or complete a series and earn a certificate. The April Workshop Calendar is live!

In-person workshops are in UL19. Come and grab a snack!

Learn about OUR programs and resources! Stop by OUR table by the Matador statue during the farmer's Market on Tuesday in April: 04/28

Stop by their drop-in hours in UL 21 and grab a snack!

The Office of Undergraduate Research Graduate Peer Mentors (GPMs) increase undergraduates’ awareness, interest, and participation in research. Master’s-level GPMs have firsthand research experience and support students during drop-in hours by answering research questions, helping find mentors, reviewing abstracts, CVs, and essays, and advising on school.

Did you know that OUR can print your research proster for free for upcoming presentations at symposia or conferences? Yes! Attend the OUR Creating a Research Poster Presentation and get a link to have your poster printed by OUR. 

Did you know that OUR provides free feedback on students' graduate school essays, scholarship essays, curriculum vitae (CV), resumes, and conference presentations?

Within 1 week (five working days) we can help strengthen your documents!

For faculty seeking mentor training opportunities, unfortunately, the National Research Mentor Network (NRMN) site is shut down. We find the University of Minnesota's Optimizing the Practice of Mentoring 102: For Research Mentors of Undergraduate Students as a suitable training program. This online training will take about 2 hours to complete, roughly the same length as the NRMN training. 

Visit the University of Minnesota's Training Hub and create a Guest Account to access the training. 

Once you create the guest account, you can add Optimizing the Practice of Mentoring 102: For Research Mentors of Undergraduate Students (course 14941)

The Institute for Broadening Participation (IBP) offers the PathwaystoScience.Org - a search engine for research programs. You can search for programs by student level (e.g., undergraduate), discipline (e.g., biology, general programs) or geographic location.  While many summer program deadlines have passed, there are few still accepting applications. Don't miss out on this transformative experience!