Students from the Research Opportunities Program share their experiences from the field.
Get Hands-On Research Experience
The Research Opportunities Program is a second- or third-year course in which you can join an instructor’s research project and earn 0.5 or 1.0 course credit. ROPs take place throughout the academic year.
Benefits of the Research Opportunities Program (ROP)
In an ROP course, you will:
- Learn research methods and further develop your research skills
- Strengthen your graduate school applications by developing a close working relationship with a faculty member
- Build peer connections with fellow ROP students as you acquire new knowledge together
- Have the opportunity to share your work at the bi-annual Research Fair — an exciting highlight of the program
Who is Eligible to Participate?
Students are eligible to apply for an ROP if they meet the following criteria:
- Are registered as a full- or part-time student entering their second or third year of an undergraduate degree program within the Faculty of Arts & Science at the St. George campus
- Have accumulated between 4.0-13.5 credits (including transfer credits) by the end of the April exam period
Is there an Additional Cost?
No, there are no additional fees for ROP courses. ROPs are covered through your regular tuition fees.
ROP Courses
If ROP faculty members have identified their prospective student(s), their ROP courses won’t be posted on CLNx. Students can search for courses on CLNx by entering the faculty’s first or last name. Should you encounter any difficulties, please reach out to rop.artsci@utoronto.ca.
The general ROP application deadline is March 22, and you can submit up to five ROP applications. Below is a full list of ROP courses for 2023-24 and no additional courses will be added.
Any applications submitted for the following two courses will not be considered as part of the maximum five applications allowed. This means that students can submit additional applications for the these courses until March 29.
- Synthetic Half-Reactions for Understanding Chemical Synthesis, by Dr. Andrei Yudin
- Perception of scenes in the real world and the visual arts, by Dr. Dirk Bernhardt-Walther
Terms | Department | Faculty Supervisor | ROP Project Title | Available on CLNx |
---|---|---|---|---|
Summer 2023 Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
BCH |
Warren Lee |
Mechanisms of LDL transcytosis across the coronary artery endothelium |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
CHM |
Al-Amin Dhirani |
Quantum nanoengineered materials |
Y |
Summer 2023 |
CHM |
Alan Aspuru-Guzik |
Using edge technology such as IoT, Quantum, and machine learning in the self-driving lab to accelerate material discovery. |
Y |
Summer 2023 Fall 2023 |
CHM |
Andrei Yudin |
Synthetic Half-Reactions for Understanding Chemical Synthesis |
Y, posted on March 20. The application deadline for this course is March 29. |
Summer 2023 |
CHM |
Haissi Cui |
Visualizing intracellular RNA trafficking |
Y |
Summer 2023 Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
CSB |
Shelley Lumba |
Molecular dialogue between plants and fungi |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
CSB |
Ritu Sarpal |
Developing a laboratory to study gene expression patterns in Drosophila embryos |
Y |
Summer 2023 |
CSC |
Marsha Chechik |
Testing and analyzing reliability of computer vision models |
N |
Summer 2023 Fall/Winter 2023-24 Fall 2023 Winter 2024 |
CSC |
Joseph Williams |
Enhancing & Personalizing Technology for Education & Health by Integrating Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology, Statistics & Machine Learning |
Y |
Summer 2023 Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
ECO |
Jonathan Hall |
How Are New Technologies Affecting Transportation Safety? |
Y |
Summer 2023 Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
EEB |
Asher Cutter |
Genetics and development in nematode evolution |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
ENV |
Brad Bass |
Land Use Economics and Sustainable Planning |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
ENV |
Brad Bass |
Simulating Complexity, Chaos and Emergence |
Y |
Summer 2023 |
ENV |
Tanhum Yoreh |
Environmental Action in Faith Communities |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
ENV |
Brad Bass |
Will Internet Connectivity Improve Access to Opportunities |
Y |
Summer 2023 |
ESS |
Andrei Swidinsky |
Developing a mineral deposit exploration project using legacy data and machine learning |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
ESS |
Miriam Diamond |
Characterizing lots of microplastics in Toronto outdoor air and surface waters |
Y |
Summer 2023 |
GGR |
Nidhi Subramanyam |
Planning for urban water security |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
HMB |
Leanne De Souza-Kenney |
Rising food costs and the effects on underserved/vulnerable communites and their cardio metabolic health outcomes |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
IRE |
Jenna Myers |
Upskilling and Worker Mobility through Bootcamp Training Programs |
N |
Summer 2023 |
LIN |
Ivan Bondoc |
Incremental Sentence Processing of Tagalog Flexible Word Order |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
LIN |
Myrto Grigoroglou |
Events in speech and gesture |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
LMP |
Golnaz Karoubi |
Effects of Biophysical Cues on Airway Epithelium |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
LMP |
Kelsie Thu |
Investigating new therapeutic strategies in lung cancer |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
LMP |
Susan Done |
Heterogeneity and the Immune Response in Breast Cancer |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
MGY |
Marc Meneghini |
Discovering pathways of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease through multi-species genetics |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
MGY |
Aaron Reinke |
Development of large-scale sequence alignment methods for the detection of microsporidian parasites |
Y |
Summer 2023 Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
MGY |
Derek Van Der Kooy |
“Learning and memory genes” and “Neural stem cells” |
Y |
Summer 2023 Fall/Winter 2023-24 Fall 2023 Winter 2024 |
MGY |
Thomas Hurd |
Determining how deleterious mitochondrial DNA mutations are eliminated |
Y |
Summer 2023 Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
NMC |
Adrien Zakar |
Instruments of Empire: Histories of Mapping in the Middle East and the World |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 Fall 2023 Winter 2024 |
OISE |
Esther Geva |
South Asian Immigrant Parents’ Involvement in the Education of Children with Learning Difficulties: Developing and Testing a Cultural Beliefs and Attributions based Intervention Model |
Y |
Summer 2023 Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
OISE |
Eunice Jang |
Diagnostic Assessment of Early Reading and Oral Language Skills |
Y |
Summer 2023 Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
OISE |
Kaja Jasinska |
Impact of interrupted schooling on the development of neural systems for reading in resettled refugee chidlren |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
OISE |
Kang Lee |
Academic Integrity Study |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
OISE |
Jennifer Jenkins |
The role of pregnancy complications in the association between maternal early adversity and offspring mental health: A mediation meta-analysis |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
OISE |
Becky Chen |
Reading Comprehension among Majority and Minority Language Children in French Immersion |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
OISE |
Todd Cunningham |
Understanding of Assistive Technology witch School Age Students |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
PHY |
Carolyn Sealfon |
Towards Scalable Assessments of 21st Century Competencies in Physics |
Y |
Summer 2023 Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
PHY |
John Wei |
Exploratory Synthesis of Oxide Superconductors |
Y |
Summer 2023 Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
PHY |
John Wei |
Cryomagnetic Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy |
Y |
Summer 2023 Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
POL |
Lynette Ong |
Politics & Society in China, Greater China and Southeast Asia |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
POL |
Donald Kingsbury |
After Extraction: On the Politics of Mine Reclamation in the Americas |
Y |
Summer 2023 Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
PSL |
Andrea Jurisicova |
Role of Mitochondria in establishing developmental competence of oocyte. |
Y |
Summer 2023 Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
PSL |
Shuzo Sugita |
Genetic analysis of synaptic transmission in C. elegans |
Y |
Summer 2023 Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
PSL |
Brian Cox |
Modelling human trophoblast interactions with decidual natural killer cells |
Y |
Summer 2023 Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
PSL |
Adria Giacca |
The role of NOD1 in obesity-associated diabetes |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
PSL |
Haibo Zhang |
Lung Gegeneration in ARDS |
Y |
Summer 2023 Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
PSL |
Denise Belsham |
Regulation of brain neuropeptides by nutrients, chemicals, and hormones. |
Y |
Summer 2023 |
PSL |
Mei Zhen |
Neuronal development by automated electron microscopy |
Y |
Fall 2023 Winter 2024 |
PSY |
Odilia Yim |
"Allow me to re-introduce myself”: The Role of Language and Identity Integration among Ethnic Minorities |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
PSY |
Alison Chasteen |
Stereotyping, Prejudice, & Discrimination |
Y |
Summer 2023 Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
PSY |
Spike Lee |
Politics, Ideology, Morality, Science Denialism, Social Class, and Digital Technology |
Y |
Summer 2023 |
PSY |
Kaori Takehara |
Brain circuitry supporting transitive inference |
Y |
Summer 2023 Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
PSY |
Meg Schlichting |
How does the developing brain remember? |
Y |
Summer 2023 Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
PSY |
Christina Starmans |
Development of Moral and Social Cognition |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
PSY |
Rebecca Neel |
Prejudice, stigmatization, motivation, and social invisibility |
Y |
Summer 2023 Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
PSY |
Jessica Sommerville |
The developmental origins of children’s thinking and behaviour in the domains of social, cognitive, and moral development |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
PSY |
Alexander Barnett |
Uncovering how the brain forms and retrieves memories |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
PSY |
Felix Cheung |
The Science of a Satisfying Life |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
PSY |
William Cunningham |
Social Others |
Y |
Summer 2023 Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
PSY |
Katherine Duncan |
Understanding Human Memory |
Y |
Summer 2023 Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
PSY |
Laura Corbit |
Neural control of reward-related learning |
Y |
Summer 2023 Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
PSY |
Morgan Barense |
How does the brain support memory? |
Y |
Summer 2023 Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
PSY |
Nicholas Rule |
The Science of Snap Judgments |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
PSY |
Suzanne Wood |
Drug Usage Rates and Attitudes Among U of T Students |
Y |
Summer 2023 |
PSY |
Gillian Einstein |
Estrogens and Cognition - Body Mapping |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
PSY |
Allison Sekuler |
Vision and Aging: perception/cognition links in health aging and dementia |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 | PSY | Dirk Bernhardt-Walther | Perception of scenes in the real world and the visual arts | Y, posted on March 17. The application deadline for this course is March 29. |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
RLG |
Pamela Klassen |
Remediating the Mound Builders: The Mounds Research Collective |
Y |
Summer 2023 |
SOC |
Ito Peng |
The Hidden Costs of Care: qualitative research into unpaid childcare and eldercare in Canada |
Y |
Summer 2023 Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
STA |
Pascal Tyrrell |
Sample size determination methodologies for machine learning studies in medical imaging research |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
Temerty Faculty of Medicine |
Hance Clarke |
Toronto General Hospital- Anesthesia and Pain Research |
Y |
Summer 2023 Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
TRN |
Nicole Spiegelaar |
Trinity Food Systems Lab |
Y |
Fall/Winter 2023-24 |
VIC |
Hakob Barseghyan |
Visualizing Worldviews: Deciphering the Process of Scientific Change |
Y |
Department | Professor | Research Project |
---|---|---|
CHM | M Cynthia Goh | Continuous disinfection of surfaces by nanomaterials coatings |
CHM | M Cynthia Goh | Storm pond water: analysis and potential remediation by photocatalysis |
CHM | Alan Aspuru-Guzik | Synthesis of New Organic Light-Emitting Diode Materials |
CSC | Alan Aspuru-Guzik | Automatized implementation of non-unitary embeddings for quantum computers |
ENV | Brad Bass | Simulating the Spread of COVID-19 and the Effectiveness of Preventive Measures with a Fixed Facility, Nigeria |
HMB | Leanne De Souza | Hindsight 2020: Post-secondary Insights on Learning in a Pandemic |
LIN | Sali Tagliamonte | Language Detectives of Toronto: Science and Craft |
MGY | Thomas Hurd | Determining how deleterious mitochondrial DNA mutations are eliminated |
PHY | Carolyn Sealfon | Summarizing learners' free responses at large scales |
POL | Peter Loewen | How do governments respond to COVID-19? A cross-national comparison of policy responses to a pandemic |
PSY | Meg Schlichting Mack | How does the developing brain remember? |
PSY | Michael Mack | The mutual interaction of attention and memory in concept learning |
PSY | Gillian Einstein | The relationship between estrogen loss, inflammation, sleep, and brain atrophy |
PSY | Gillian Einstein | The relationship between sleep, cortical thickness, estrogen, and memory |
APHD | Becky Xi Chen | The International Bilingual Education Project |
CSC | Joseph Williams | Helping Students Improve their Education & Health by Integrating Behavioral/Social Sciences like Psychology, Economics, Public Health with Computer Science |
CSC | Joseph Williams | Building Intelligent Self-Improving Technology for Student Education & Health by Integrating Machine Learning, Statistics, Economics, Computational Social Science |
ENV | Tanhum Yoreh | Faith-Based Environmentalism: Mapping and Analysis |
LIN | Suzi Oliveira de Lima | Internationalized learning at home: investigating African languages spoken in Toronto |
MGY | Derek Van Der Kooy | Learning and memory genes |
MGY | Tae-Hee Kim | Mechanisms of gut stem cell niches |
NMC | Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi | Persianate Women Poets |
POL | Lynette Ong | Analysis of Socio-political Conditions in China and Beyond |
PSL | Haibo Zhang | Lung Regeneration in ARDS |
PSL | Sheena Josselyn | Understanding memories in mice |
PSL | Sheena Josselyn | Examining the impact of stress on memory in mice |
PSL | Adria Giacca | The role of NOD1 in obesity-associated diabetes |
PSL | Shuzo Sugita | Genetic analysis of synaptic transmission in C. elegans |
PSY | Jessica Sommerville | The infantile origins of social thinking, learning and behavior |
PSY | Spike Lee | Morality, Values, and Intuitions |
PSY | Spike Lee | Social Class, Social Dominance, Relative Deprivation, and Lay Beliefs |
PSY | Christina Starmans | Children's Understanding of Moral Conflict and Temptation |
PSY | Morgan Barense | How does the brain support memory? |
PSY | Nicholas Rule | Social Perception and Cognition |
STA | Pascal Tyrrell | Sample size determination methodologies for machine learning studies in medical imaging research |
TRN | Michael Kessler, Nicole Spiegelaar | Sustainable Food Systems |
CHM | Barbora Morra, Andy Dicks | CHM - Developing New Microwave-Assisted Organic Synthesis Reactions for Use in the Undergraduate Laboratory Curriculum |
EEB | Stephen Wright | EEB - Genomic basis of sex determination in the plant Rumex hastatulus |
HMB | Leanne De Souza | HMB - Hindsight 2020: Post-secondary Insights on Learning in a Pandemic |
ANES | Hance Clarke | (1) Phonemics and Genomics of Chronic Postsurgical Pain, (2) The Transitional Pain Service Database Project, and (3) The GoodHope Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) Project |
APHD | Michele Peterson-Badali | Mental Health in Youth Criminal Court |
APHD | Todd Cunningham | Exploring Teacher Mental Health Literacy as a Determinant of Mental Health Service Access by Elementary School Children |
APHD | Todd Cunningham | School Engagement and Performance Among Refugee Youth |
APHD | Earl Woodruff | Emotions and Learning: Examining affective and cognitive processes in real-time |
APHD | Esther Geva | Exploring the Literacy Outcomes of a vocabulary and Reading Comprehension Intervention Targeting Immigrant Adolescents |
APHD | Esther Geva | Developmental, Cognitive and Typological Spelling Error Patterns of English Language Learners Coming from 3 Typologically Different Home Language Backgrounds |
BCH | Warren Lee | LDL transcytosis by coronary endothelial cells and the initiation of atherosclerosis |
CHM | Al-Amin Dhirani | Nanoengineering Quantum Electronic Behaviour |
CHM | Helen Tran | Synthesis of soft tissue-compatible bottlebrush elastomers |
CHM | Helen Tran | Self-assembly of biomimetic peptoids into 2D nanosheets |
CSB | Nicholas Provart | Molecular and Bioinformatic Characterization of Novel Environmental Stress-Associated Genes from Plants |
CSC | Peter Marbach | Evaluating Models and Algorithms for Social Networks using Twitter Data |
CSC | Peter Marbach | Network Protocols for the Internet of Things |
CSC | Joseph Williams | Enhancing & Personalizing Technology for Educational & Physical/Mental Health by integrating Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology & Statistical Machine Learning |
EEB | Asher Cutter | Genetics and development in nematode evolution |
EEB | Chelsea Rochman | Contamination and Effects of Microplastics in Aquatic Ecosystems |
EEB | Megan Frederickson | Host-microbe interactions across an island archipelago |
EEB | Jacqueline Sztepanacz | The evolution of sex differences in wings |
EEB | Benjamin Gilbert | Ecological selection and drift |
ENV | Brad Bass | Simulating the Emergence of Unexpected Change within Natural Systems |
ENV | Brad Bass | Simulating the emergence of behavioural change and the impact on the environment |
HIS | Jennifer Mori | Early modern English household manuals, 1660-1800 |
HMB | William Ju | Developing EDI (Equity, Diversity, Inclusivity) learning modules for biology courses |
LIN | Myrto Grigoroglou | Cross-linguistic expression of events in speech and gesture |
LMP | Warren Lee | Mechanisms of acute lung injury - development of novel therapeutic approaches |
LMP | Kelsie Thu | Characterizing novel treatment strategies for lung cancer |
LMP | Susan Done | Heterogeneity and the Immune Response in Breast Cancer |
LMP | Shinichiro Ogawa | Human Pluripotent Stem Cells for Modelling Human Liver Disease and Cell Therapy |
MAT | George Elliott | Classification of C*-algebras |
MBP | Daniel De Carvalho | Genome-wide CRISPR Screen in Primary Human CD8+ T Cells |
MGY | Marc Meneghini | Molecular and genetic investigations of viral innate immunity |
MGY | Peter Roy | Identifying novel nematicides to combat plant parasitic nematodes |
PCL | Roger McIntyre | Synthesizing the Pathophysiology of Post-COVID-19 Syndrome: A Systematic Review |
POL | Donald Kingsbury | Extractive Frontiers of the Post-Carbon Energy Transition |
PSL | Denise Belsham | Understanding the role of excess nutrients, endocrine disrupting chemicals, and circadian rhythms in the regulation of neuropeptides that control energy homeostasis and reproduction |
PSY | Alison Chasteen | Stereotyping, Prejudice, and Discrimination |
PSY | Spike Lee | How Physical Firmness Affects Metacognitive Firmness Leading to Stronger Beliefs, Reinforced Processing Styles and More Entrenched Judgments |
PSY | Geoffrey MacDonald | Singlehood and Well-Being |
PSY | Rebecca Neel | Prejudice, stigmatization, motivation, and social invisibility |
PSY | Katherine Duncan | Investigating Episodic Memory in Parkinson's Disease Patients |
PSY | Amy Finn, Nicholas Rule | Attending less, but learning more: Do children's reduced selective attention boost memory for irrelevant information? |
PSY | Amy Finn, Nicholas Rule | Neural development of the perception and memory of event structure in continuous narrative |
RLG | John Marshall | Gospel Parallels |
VIC | Hakob Barseghyan | Visualizing Worldviews: Diagramming Belief System |
CLA | Jonathan Burgess | Theories of Myth |
Dates and Application Process
Date | Activity |
---|---|
February 22, 2023 |
2023-24 ROP applications open on CLNx. Students are allowed to apply to a maximum of five ROP projects. |
March 16, 2023 |
Prospective ROP students are encouraged to attend the bi-annual Research Fair to learn about Fall/Winter 2022-23 ROP research projects and connect with current ROP students. The Research Fair will take place at Hart House in the Great Hall. Register via this link to attend. |
March 22, 2023 |
2023-24 ROP applications close at 11:59 pm. |
March 27, 2023 |
Student applications sent to ROP faculty supervisors. Supervisors begin reviewing applications and extending interview invitations to students. |
March 27 – April 6, 2023 |
Round One interview period: Faculty members review applications, interview students and present offer(s). |
April 6, 2023 |
Deadline for faculty to present Round One offers to students. |
April 6 – 9, 2023 |
Students consider Round One offers. |
April 9, 2023 |
Deadline for students to accept or decline Round One offers. |
April 10 – May 19, 2023 |
Round Two interview period for unfilled opportunities: Faculty members review applications, interview students and present offers to student(s). Students accept offers on a rolling basis. |
April 19, 2023 |
Last day for Summer ROP student(s) to be selected and for ROP contracts to be submitted. |
April 21, 2023 |
Experiential Learning & Outreach Support office to enrol students in Summer 2023 ROP courses. |
May 19, 2023 |
Last day for Fall (F), Fall/Winter (Y) and Winter (S) ROP student(s) to be selected and for ROP contracts to be submitted. |
Early June 2023 |
Students enrolled in Fall, Fall/Winter and Winter ROP courses. |
September 2023 |
Fall Research Fair for summer ROP students. |
March 2024 |
Spring Research Fair for Fall, Fall/Winter and Winter ROP students. |
To do in the Fall term:
- September: Attend bi-annual Research Fair to familiarize yourself with the type of research projects your peers have worked on throughout the Summer term
- September - December: Gather information: Review ROP deadlines for 2023-24, talk with professors, classmates and ROP alumni
- If you are interested in doing an ROP for a particular course, encourage your faculty member to submit an ROP proposal
- Sharpen your interview skills: Review these tips from Student Life and Interview Ready modules from UTSC
To do in the Winter term:
- February: Review list of ROP proposals posted on the CLNx portal
- March: Attend bi-annual Research Fair to browse posters and ask questions
- Apply for ROP by the deadline listed in CLNx
- Prepare for a possible interview
- Round 1 interviews
- April: Deadline to accept or decline a Round 1 offer
- Round 2 interviews
- May: Deadline to accept or decline a Round 2 offer
- Students must apply to ROP course postings on CLNx by the program deadline in order to be considered
- You will be required to sign an agreement (ROP contract) with your supervising instructor, which will serve as your course syllabus for your 299 course (if this is your first ROP) or 399 course (if this is your second ROP)
- You may enrol in a maximum of two ROP courses (with different supervisors) during your undergraduate studies
For the 2023-24 application period, students can apply for up to 5 ROPs on the CLNx platform, between February 22 to March 22, 2023. If students submit more than 5 applications, only the first 5 applications submitted will be considered. Applications included four documents: resume/CV, a letter of intent, an unofficial transcript and an Applicant Profile Summary. For those interested to learn about the 2023-24 application process, please view the CLNx application process video. All applications will be sent to faculty supervisors on March 27, 2023.
After student applications are sent to the faculty supervisor, they then make their selections in accordance with the relevant deadlines. Some faculty supervisors will have interviews, phone calls or email questions to students they are considering. Each faculty supervisor has their own method. Only students who are being considered or are selected for an ROP course will be contacted by the relevant faculty supervisor. Selected students are required to sign an agreement (ROP contract) with their supervising professor to participate in an ROP course, and will be enrolled into the course by the Office of the Dean prior to the start of the relevant term.
Interested students can attend the ROP Application Tips Session in February and March, and gain tips on how to prepare their application. If you have any questions while preparing your application, please do not hesitate to write to us rop.artsci@utoronto.ca or attend one of our drop-in sessions via this MS Teams link (Feb 22, 2:00-3:00pm; March 3, 1:00-2:00pm; March 7, 4:00-5:00pm; March 13, 12:00-1:00pm; March 20, 10:00-11:00am).
What are the course requirements of ROPs?
- ROP projects in Fall (H), Fall/Winter (Y) and Winter (H) typically require 8-10 hours of work per week on the research project. ROP projects in Summer (Y) typically require 18-20 hours of work per week on the research project
- Students are expected to keep a journal documenting their research progress, and what they have learned about the project and about the process of research more broadly
- Students should meet at least every other week with their faculty supervisor and record the dates and times of those meetings in their journal
- Students will attend any training or orientations that the supervisor may require
- Written assignments must constitute at least 50% of the final grade in an ROP course
- Final exams are not allowed as part of the grading scheme for an ROP
- Supervisors must return assignments worth at least 20% of the course mark before the relevant course drop date in a given term
Do ROP courses (299H/Y and 399H/Y) count towards my degree? Yes. You will receive 0.5 or 1.0 course credit (depending on whether your ROP is an H or Y course) towards the 20.0 credits required for an Honours Bachelor of Arts (HBA), Honours Bachelor of Science (HBSc), or Bachelor of Commerce (BCom).
Do ROP courses count towards my program requirements?
It may, depending on the nature of the ROP project and your Program of Study. You will have to discuss this with the faculty supervisor who oversees your ROP to see how it fits into an academic program and then discuss this with your program coordinator.
Are ROP courses in-person or online?
ROP courses can be in-person, online or hybrid — this will vary based on the research project and is at the discretion of the faculty supervisor.
I am an A&S degree student, but I am over the credit limit for ROP – am I eligible for ROP?
A&S degree students with 14.0 or more credits are not eligible to participate. Please note that transfer credits count towards your overall credit count. If you are above the credit limit for ROP and are keen to build research experience, you can also consider taking Independent Study or other research-based courses or connect with professors directly for additional opportunities to volunteer or work with them. Individual departments or programs may also have information on potential ways you can engage in research — please contact your department or program directly. You can also consider funded avenues to conduct research; to get started, review the funding opportunities listed on the Sidney Smith Commons website, under the Grants section. Finally, there are also Lab/Research Assistant Work-Study positions that you can apply for; Work-Study program eligibility details and dates can be found on the CLNx website.
I am a visiting or exchange student / a student from another Faculty / a student from another U of T campus — am I eligible for ROP?
Students who are not Arts & Science (St. George) degree undergraduate students are not eligible to participate in ROP. Please connect with your department or program to find out about other avenues to build your research experience.
How many ROPs can I apply for?
Students are allowed to apply for a maximum of five ROPs per application cycle (the February 2023 application cycle includes Summer 2023, Fall 2023, Fall/Winter 2023-24 and Winter 2024 ROP courses). If a student attempts to submit additional applications (above the five ROP limit), only their first five applications will be considered valid; they will automatically be ineligible to participate in ROPs related to those additional applications.
Does it help to get my application in right away, well in advance of the deadline?
No. Applications will only be shared with professors after the application period is complete. We encourage you to take your time to read over and refine your application(s). However, students submitting their application documents close to the end of the application period should be mindful to leave enough time before the final deadline to mitigate the impact of any technical issues that may interfere with your ability to submit your documents.
Should I contact the faculty supervisor of the ROP project I am interested in?
Due to the high volume of applicants, and out of respect for your professor’s time, please review the ROP posting carefully as your first step. If, after reviewing the posting, you have outstanding questions concerning deadlines, eligibility or requirements, please feel free to contact the Experiential Learning & Outreach Support office. Should you have additional, outstanding questions concerning the nature of the research project itself, or the faculty member’s research needs, then please feel free to contact the supervisor directly for an appointment to discuss the project further. Please note that supervisors may receive numerous applications. As a result, they typically only contact those students whom they wish to interview. Unless you have specific, unanswered questions concerning the nature of the research involved, then we do not recommend reaching out to supervisors.
Will my marks or GPA play a role? How can I increase my chances of getting one of the positions?
The importance of your GPA will vary, based on the requirements of the ROP course that you have applied to, and the selection criteria noted by the supervising professor. Most faculty supervisors would prefer to see enthusiasm for the research and a positive attitude over the highest grades. In general, highlight your skills and relevant experience and tailor your documents to the position.
How can I increase my chances of obtaining an ROP position?
ROP Application Tips and the Resume and Cover Letter Toolkit may be useful resources to support you in crafting your application documents. Finally, you may find it helpful to attend the Research Opportunities Program Poster Fair to speak with ROP students about their projects and the application process.
What does the acceptance process look like? How will I know that I am officially accepted?
Faculty supervisors will schedule interviews or phone calls, or email questions to students they are considering. Each faculty supervisor has their own process. If a professor is interested in moving forward with your application, your eligibility will be verified. If you are eligible to participate in an ROP course, you will sign a contract with your supervising professor. Students will be enrolled directly into the course by the office of Experiential Learning & Outreach Support.
I have not been contacted with regards to my ROP application(s). Is there still a chance that I might get selected for an ROP course?
Only students who are being considered or are selected for an ROP course will be contacted by the relevant faculty supervisor. Unfortunately, if you do not receive and sign an offer by either April 19, 2023 (for Summer 2023 ROP courses) or May 19, 2023 (for Fall 2023, Fall/Winter 2023-24 and Winter 2024 ROP courses), you have not been selected for a 2023-24 ROP course.
I have already signed an ROP contract with a professor but have received an offer from another professor. Can I withdraw from the first contract and sign another contract?
No. Students are not allowed to sign more than one contract per application cycle. If a student signs more than one ROP contract, only the first signed contract will be honoured and the other contract(s) will be considered void.
I am enrolled in an ROP course, and the term is about to begin next week. I last spoke with my faculty supervisor when I signed the contract. Am I supposed to reach out, or should I wait to hear from them?
The start of term is a busy time for many people, including professors. If you have not yet heard from your faculty supervisor, we encourage you to send them an email. If you face any challenges connecting with your professor, please email rop.artsci@utoronto.ca.
I am enrolled in an ROP course and need to withdraw. However, I cannot drop the course via ACORN. What steps should I take?
If you have not yet started the course, but need to withdraw:
- Inform your faculty supervisor about your decision to drop the course
- Email rop.artsci@utoronto.ca, copying your faculty supervisor, to let us know that you need to be unenrolled from the course
If you have already started the course, and need to withdraw:
- Inform your faculty supervisor about your decision to drop the course
- Email your college registrar, copying rop.artsci@utoronto.ca, to request to withdraw from the course
I am interested in or already working on a professor’s research project. Can my work on their research count as an ROP course? ROP proposals by faculty members must be submitted for adjudication before they are approved as a course, to ensure that the research project aligns with ROP course policies and requirements. The deadline for faculty members to submit ROP proposals for 2023-24 is January 16, 2023. Special approval may, however, be granted in exceptional circumstances for late submissions; please reach out to rop.artsci@utoronto.ca.
Alternative ways for your work to be counted towards course credit is to investigate whether your participation in this research project may be eligible for Independent Study or other research-based courses.
Is ROP eligible for Credit/No Credit?
Courses where an individual student works on independent study or individual research supervised by a professor are not eligible for Credit/No Credit; this includes ROP courses.