Research Opportunities Program

All faculty members who hold a U of T appointment at the St. George campus are eligible to submit an ROP proposal and supervise an ROP student. However, research support funding is limited to:

• A&S faculty members with continuing undergraduate appointments at St. George, and; 
• Faculty members with continuing appointments in academic units that offer A&S undergraduate programs

Funding is based on the total number of students supported per term and the length of the ROP (H/Y). Funding can be provided for up to nine students in summer and nine students across fall/winter, fall and winter. Funds are transferred into the research accounts of participating faculty members by the mid-term of the ROP course.

Funding details are outlined below:

Faculty Proposal Submission

• Faculty members may submit one application for all projects offered under an academic program instead of one application per research project, as in previous years. 
  • If a faculty member has two projects that fall under different academic programs, they may submit two applications – one per program. 
• Submissions may describe either a specific project OR a broad research area with various sub-project areas, if applicable. 
  • Example: A specific project might be The Impact of Trauma on Cognitive Development. A broad research area might be Trauma and the Brain, with specific sub-project areas on The Impact of Trauma on Cognitive Development and Trauma and Memory Loss.

Student Eligibility Criteria (299/399)

• Based on participant feedback, effective May 2022, the requirement for hosting at least one 299 student for every 399 student will be removed. Instead, A&S undergraduate students must have between 4.0 credits and 13.5 credits completed by the end of the April 2023 exam period. Students will be placed into a 299 course for their first ROP, and a 399 course for their second ROP.
• As the intention of ROP is to provide an opportunity for students to engage in research earlier in their academic career, faculty members are strongly encouraged to consider second-year students (4.0-8.5 credits) for their research projects.

Student Selection Process

• In response to requests by students for a more equitable and transparent ROP selection process, this year we will be continuing a two-round interview process.
• Faculty will be asked to interview students during the Round One interview period and to present offers by the Round One deadline. Students will have the opportunity to review all Round One offers together and select their preferred project. (Note: Offers cannot be rescinded during this time).
• For any projects not filled following Round One, there will be a second interview period immediately following Round One. Faculty can present offers at any time during Round Two. See Key Dates for 2023–24 ROPs for further details.

Administrative Processing

• We will be using SharePoint to collect all ROP proposal submissions and for Chair approvals. 
• Faculty members will be provided with a tailored copy of their ROP contract.

All applications for 2023–24 should be submitted through the Research Opportunities Program (ROP) Portal. If you have any trouble accessing the ROP Portal, please reach out to rop.artsci@utoronto.ca. Faculty members are encouraged to review the Faculty Guide: Assessing your ROP Student for sample learning goals, activities and assessments that can be adapted for the purpose of their ROP project.

Please follow the following steps to submit your ROP application:  

• Please download the 2023–24 ROP Faculty Proposal Form.pdf.
  • Note: If you have any difficulty accessing this form, please contact rop.artsci@utoronto.ca.
• Submit your completed ROP Faculty Proposal form by January 16, 2023 to the Research Opportunities Program (ROP) Portal. Use the ROP Portal Instructions as guidance. 
• Your chair or designated approver will need to review and approve the proposal using the ROP Portal by January 30, 2023. 
• New ROP applications are adjudicated by the multi-disciplinary Research Opportunities Committee, who offer feedback when appropriate.
• Faculty members will be informed of their ROP status (approval, conditional approval, not approved) by February 13, 2023.

Student Selection Process:

• The approved ROP will be posted on the CLNx from February 22–March 22, 2023 for students to review and apply.
• Once the application period closes on March 22, 2023, faculty members will be emailed their application bundles.
• Faculty will be asked to interview students during the Round One interview period (March 27–April 6, 2023) and to present offers by the Round One deadline. Students will have the opportunity to review all Round One offers together and select their preferred project. (Note: Offers cannot be rescinded during this time).
• For any projects not filled following Round One, there will be a second interview period immediately following Round One. Faculty can present offers at any time during Round Two (April 10–May 19, 2023).

• Faculty members can take a maximum of 18 students into their research project(s) at any given time, provided they can demonstrate that they are able to provide adequate supervision and support for a large group of students. 
• Students may not complete two ROP courses with the same professor. Special consideration may be granted if the student and professor can demonstrate that the student will be working on a new project with distinct learning goals and skill development opportunities.
  • To request special consideration, please fill out the ROP Student Continuation Request form and email it to rop.artsci@utoronto.ca. Please note that the final decision for student continuation requests rests with the Vice-Dean, Undergraduate (or designate).

Faculty members are encouraged to read the information about ROPs provided to students for examples of past projects, student eligibility and other general FAQs.