Departmental Research Experience for Undergrads (REU)

The CCEE Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program aims to provide valuable research experience for undergraduate students who are interested in research and are considering graduate school. Participation in this program is intended to be an honor and the selection process is competitive. Students who participate in this program will be mentored by at least one CCEE faculty member and will conduct state-of-the-art research related to civil, construction, or environmental engineering.

Eligible students are expected to have at least sophomore standing with an overall and CCEE major GPA of 3.5, or higher. However, strong proposals from students who do not meet both of these criteria will also be considered. Students who are interested in this program should meet with potential faculty advisors, identify mutual research interests, and develop a proposal. Students should also consult with their potential faculty advisors regarding access and safety procedures if working in a lab is required. REU opportunities are available in both the fall and spring semesters along with the summer. 

For a REU during the Fall or Spring semester, participants must be registered NC State undergraduate students in the term for which the REU is awarded. During the Summer CCEE REU program, students should not be enrolled in classes, concurrent summer programs, or hold other employment. Students selected for the Summer CCEE REU program are expected to participate in online seminars, workshops, and other activities along with students from other institutions participating in the NC State CCEE RISE program (see https://go.ncsu.edu/rise). Students participating in the Summer CCEE REU program will also present their research at the Annual NC State Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium. During Fall and Spring REUs, student effort should be roughly equivalent to 3 credit hours of time (~6-10 hr/week) though each REU experience is unique. The Summer REU experience is expected to be a full time commitment.

REU proposals should be submitted at https://go.ncsu.edu/reuapplications before the deadlines below:

Fall REU:

Early submission- August 1

Final submission- Fall census date 

Spring REU: 

Early submission- Wednesday before Fall Graduation

Final submission- Spring census date 

Summer REU:

Early submission- Friday before Spring break

Final submission- May 1

Proposals submitted at the early submission deadlines will be either approved at that time or deferred until the final submission deadline depending on the strength of the proposal. Proposals will be evaluated by the UG Programs Committee for overall quality, including both content and presentation. The total value of each stipend is $1,500 per semester and/or $5,100 per summer. The financial details of award payment are explained below. 

The REU award is provided through funding from the College of Engineering and disbursed by the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid to the University Cashier’s Office Student Account. For Fall and Spring REU awards, the stipend is a credit applied to your student account. For the Summer REU, students receive a one-time payment of the stipend amount. Please be advised that if outstanding charges are present on a student’s account, the stipend will be credited towards those charges before paid to the student. Additionally, if a student does not complete the research project, the student will be required to return the stipend. Of note, some faculty may be open to hiring students through NC State’s work-study program or as an hourly student worker. Both of these options may have different financial aid implications and payment structure than the REU program. 

The stipend and other components of this award, though not considered wages, may be taxable income.  Please refer to IRS Pub. 970, Tax Benefits for Education, https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p970.pdf, and the Form 1040 instructions, http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040.pdf, for further information on what amount is reportable and how to report it when filing your taxes. In addition, this award must be considered a resource for federal financial aid purposes and included in the total financial aid support that a student receives.

What else adds value to our degrees?

• Professional Organizations and Honoraries to engage and network outside the classroom.
• International engineering programs for global exposure and understanding.
• Undergraduate Research to acquire the investigative skills of a researcher.
• Cooperative Education (Co-op) and Internships to work in the profession while getting your degree.
• Professional Engineer (PE) Licensure for broader certification in the field.
• Order of the Engineer: Introduction to the Profession to join the professional engineering community.
• Engineering Career Fair for exploring job possibilities and finding your future employer.