Applications are now being accepted for the 2026-2027 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-seventh 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 employing 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 2026-2027 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 27 for spring interviews)
Faculty procedures for the URA Program
- Complete URA Faculty application (soft deadline of March 27 for spring interviews.)
- Interview student(s) and make offers of employment
- Complete Letter of Intent
- Once approved, hire the student into Workday for the appropriate term in the work-study profile
Applications, guidelines, and procedures are available on-line on the Student Jobs Website.
For further information contact Julie Arnold at (515) 294-0103 or jaarnol@iastate.edu or Megan Spiehs at (515) 294-7920 or meganm6@iastate.edu.