All Articles

Applications being accepted for 2024-25 Undergraduate Research Assistantship (URA) Program

Author: Troy Rutter

Applications are now being accepted for the 2024-2025 Undergraduate Research Assistantship (URA) Program. The URA program encourages outstanding juniors and seniors to pursue graduate study by offering them hands-on experience in a formal research environment. Participation in the URA Program assists students in making career decisions and in attaining information about graduate education and fellowships. In its thirty-sixth year, the URA program continues to help students develop technical and specialized skills as well as foster originality, imagination, judgment, and patience — the traits of an independent scholar.

Faculty members of Iowa State also benefit from working closely with talented undergraduates. Work-study funding subsidizes the student’s payroll, with 60% of eligible wages coming from work-study funding and the employment department covering the remaining 40%. Submitting an application does not guarantee a URA, but if you are not initially matched, we will work throughout the year to identify potential matches.

To qualify for the URA Program, students must:

      • Be classified as juniors or seniors by the beginning of the term employed as a URA
      • File the 2024-2025 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and be eligible for work-study funding
      • Maintain an ISU cumulative GPA of at least 3.25
      • Complete URA application (soft deadline of March 29 for spring interviews)

Faculty procedures for the URA Program:

  • Complete URA Faculty application (soft deadline of March 29 for spring interviews)
  • Interview student(s) and make offers of employment
  • Complete Letter of Intent
  • Once approved, hire student into Workday for the appropriate term in the work-study profile

Applications and the guidelines and procedures are available on-line at: https://studentjobs.iastate.edu/types-of-employment/ura/

For further information contact Julie Arnold at (515) 294-0103 or jaarnol@iastate.edu