Enrich Your Knowledge by Partaking in Frontline Research

Enjoy the perks of attending a top research university by joining a research lab! Partaking in research provides an excellent opportunity for engineering students to apply classroom knowledge to real-world problems. Students who partake in research centers as undergraduate research assistants gain lab and research experience, and have the opportunity to work directly with a faculty member and other graduate students. Joining a research lab can also help students stand out in graduate school applications. 

Interested in starting your own research project? Check out our Undergraduate Research Center

Earn Elective Units for Working in a Lab!

  • Students can earn ECI 199 "variable" units that may go towards the electives requirement
  • Can earn 1-5 units per quarter--units must be registered for each quarter if lab participation continued throughout the year.
    • 3 hrs per week ~ 1 unit (30 hrs per quarter)
    • 6 hrs per week ~ 2 units 
    • Etc. 
  • May include up to 6 variable units towards electives. 
  • Submit the Variable Unit Form to civiladvising@ucdavis.edu BEFORE the 12th day of instruction to receive a specific CRN number to add to Schedule Builder.

Click here to view a list of our research centers