Research Opportunities Program

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.

1. Synthetic Half-Reactions for Understanding Chemical Synthesis, by Dr. Andrei Yudin
2. Perception of scenes in the real world and the visual arts, by Dr. Dirk Bernhardt-Walther

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: 

1. Inform your faculty supervisor about your decision to drop the course
2. 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: 

1. Inform your faculty supervisor about your decision to drop the course
2. 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.