Texas Tech University

Active Learning and Undergraduate Engagement

Whitacre College of Engineering Undergraduate Research

While classroom instruction provides the primary means of knowledge development for students who are on their way to becoming professional engineers, opportunities to apply learned knowledge to challenging research problems exist in the Whitacre College of Engineering's faculty research laboratories.

Any student with an eye toward graduate studies in the sciences and engineering can become involved in laboratory research as early as the spring of his or her freshman year. Many departments discuss possible undergraduate research experiences at student society meetings, undergraduate seminars, and in some of the first freshman engineering courses. Students are encouraged to approach faculty members, and even graduate students, in topics that are of interest to them.

Texas Tech faculty are always delighted to discuss their theoretical, experimental, and applied research activities, and many do have room in their labs for undergraduates to participate and to become members of a team that includes graduate and more senior undergraduate students. Part-time lab employment may also be available, especially during the summer terms.

For information on research opportunities in the Whitacre College of Engineering centers and institutes, check out the Research Centers and Institutes that are linked to the Whitacre College of Engineering.

Texas Tech Center for Undergraduate Research

The Texas Tech Center for Undergraduate Research supports undergraduate researchers while striving to lead the way as the hub of undergraduate research activity at Texas Tech University.

In addition to assisting undergraduate researchers through skills training and research funding, the Center provides expansive, one-on-one mentoring to undergraduate students in all phases of the research process. The Center is particularly committed to the recruitment, retention, and development of undergraduate researchers at Texas Tech University. For more information, visit: https://www.depts.ttu.edu/calue/