Office of Undergraduate Research

The Office of Undergraduate Research is committed to expanding undergraduate research opportunities, guided by the philosophy that all Illinois undergraduate students should learn about current disciplinary research, take part in research discussions, and be exposed to research experiences in their regular coursework. 

Learn more by visiting the Office of Undergraduate Research website or signing up for the newsletter.

ENGL 461 (Advanced Topics in Literature, Fall 2023):  The Art of Research

Bringing literary analysis to cultural objects is an art that requires pragmatic choices and offers creative opportunities. To appreciate this process, we’ll read innovative works of criticism with a focus on uncovering those scholars' stakes, methods, and conclusions; we’ll even experiment with creative alternate presentations of their findings.

Throughout the semester, students will develop their own small-scale literary research projects: selecting a field of inquiry they’re passionate about; articulating a research question; identifying appropriate methods, archives, or datasets; and sharing some initial discoveries with classmates. The course will be conducted as a seminar or, at times, a workshop, with visits from faculty researchers; introductions to print and digital resources, from rare books to big data; and class sessions at Skeuomorph Press and the library’s Media Lab.

Juniors and Seniors only. Students should have completed English 301 and 350. 

Re:Search, the Undergraduate Literary Criticism Journal at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Note: This journal is on hiatus and not currently publishing. To see past editions, visit the Re:Search Archives.
Any questions or requests to join and restart publication should be directed to englishadvising@illinois.edu.

Re:Search is a student-founded and student-run RSO that is an official academic publication indexed in the University Library and searchable on Google Scholar. It is funded and sponsored by the English Department, the Scholarly Commons of the University Library, and the Office of Undergraduate Research.

The journal offers opportunities to collaborate with English faculty members and University Departments, gain editorial experience and familiarity with an online journal platform, and the chance to be acknowledged in an official academic publication as a member of Re:Search.

As a member, you can gain credit toward the Undergraduate Research Certificate or Enrichment Points if you are an LAS James Scholar.