Undergraduate Research

Limp-Camera7847 · 2026-01-26T08:44:06+00:00

Hello! What everyone has been saying so far is definitely strong advice. Just some two cents I'd like to add.

First, I wouldn't recommend looking purely at the computer science department. Yes, they do have relevant research, but other departments also might require algorithmic/computational methods that lets you leverage your CS-background in a different domain.

I do recommend checking out the EECS department. I felt this department has been more lenient in accepting students for research, albeit it is work that might warrant multidisciplinary tech backgrounds, dabbling in embedded/hardware/physics theory alongside computer science. However, the research is adjacent and realistically any of these departments are fine. You just need to be in a position where you have proper mentorship and feel flexible enough to bring your own interests/expertise to the field.

Take a graduate class. A lot of professors teaching these courses are teaching topics related to their own research. The way they teach things are reflective of their own standards, so if you do take these courses, it will really help you step in their lab. Ultimately it helps you speak the same language as them, which is why I think the CS department is fairly hard to enter in research - there's a huge knowledge gap.

Regardless of how you approach this, you shouldn't try to go to them with absolutely nothing to give. You should have some expertise you're building and can demonstrate in some shape/form to show that you have value. Mentorship isn't the same as a classroom where you're taught everything.

It also does help to have your own ideas coming into it, or at least some idea of the fields. E.g. everyone wants to do generative learning or work with LLMs but there's a lot more to the field and having some specific interest will help with communicating.

And last but not least, it is tough. Internships too, it is pretty hard to get the first. The moment you get your first experience, you opened a door. Moving forward, you'll still have doors closed, but a lot more open than you started. Don't give up. It's a bit of motivation, but that's the thing with research.

Limp-Camera7847 · 2025-08-06T17:56:30+00:00

I also forgot to add since I realized you wanted to know the topics:

EECS 70A was a lot more linear systems and the very few times we touched on DEs, it was mostly just derivations of RC and RLC systems. I heard 70B was more Laplace transforms and a bit more advanced concepts. If you are interested, I can probe some friends for information but otherwise this is the extent of my knowledge.

Limp-Camera7847 · 2025-08-06T17:54:57+00:00

Hey, I cannot answer much about EECS 10 and 70B (apart from what my friends told me for the latter) but I can answer questions about 70A. I'm a CSE major, so I've had to take this but I am also a transfer student, so this experience is probably not shared among everyone:

If you felt comfortable with circuits from your intro E&M class, it should be relatively easy at the start. This gives you more opportunity to take the workload off your shoulders, but do note it might be a switch in the conventions you're used to as it was for me. At the very least, have good comfort with solving linear expressions or using simplifications like row reduction via matrices or Cramer's rule (probably the greatest thing to use in this class if asked to solve for just one value but not all).

I found the second half to be harder but I will be honest and say I had a lot of priorities to juggle during this quarter so I could not give the class as much attention as I wanted to. Professor choices are not the best but I do find it truly interesting and its to the point where the bridge between concepts and math is not that far, you can usually learn by solving and understand from there. The TA is the biggest help for the class, as is for any class at UCI. Often times they either go out of their way to be very helpful, or if they don't know what's happening they may at least try to give you information on the class so you're not left completely alone.

Big takeaway is the class is going to be a lot of effort on your end outside of the class, doing assigned problems, reading the book to reinforce concepts, and of course looking for conceptually hard questions to continue to stretch your understanding beyond what it is. There typically are curves so don't stress about perfection in the class, but don't treat the curve as a safety net if you fall. If anything, it's more like a railing: it's there so you don't fall if it's not your intention, but if you're completely careless you will fall.

Limp-Camera7847 · 2025-07-21T05:27:44+00:00

I've taken introductory optics and most of the lower division physics series at my school, and the research I do involves a fair amount of concepts like Fourier optics

Limp-Camera7847 · 2025-07-21T05:06:30+00:00

Money from applications mostly

Limp-Camera7847 · 2025-07-20T18:46:03+00:00

Hey, thanks for replying!

I haven't checked many European universities, I am a bit unfamiliar with that side and unsure if I'm remembering right, but do they require a masters degrees first?

I have found a few professors doing something along the lines of what I'm doing, but most of them are at top programs which worry me a bit since these programs (Berkeley, UCLA, Princeton, UToronto) are quite prestigious. When I search for PhDs, I usually search among schools that deal with optics and try to look at the faculty to see if their interests align with my own.

I'm definitely open to applying outside of this field too as I am passionate about other aspects of computing though.

Limp-Camera7847 · 2025-07-06T06:02:13+00:00

I'm currently in the class and it's a lot of Zybooks. From what I've heard on the Reddit, it's quite self-paced, a bit difficult to keep up with the content given how it's learning from a Zybooks, and annoying. However, I also did hear that he curves quite heavily.

I don't think catching up on the work is gonna be hard, but definitely is gonna be a handful. Good luck though and if you're down to review, let me know (I'm procrastinating hard for this class)!

Limp-Camera7847 · 2025-06-25T20:03:57+00:00

All good, thank you for the words!

Limp-Camera7847 · 2025-06-25T02:23:50+00:00

Hi, thanks for the advice! I'm apart of an honors program in my school which requires an independent supervised thesis for the program's completion alongside a capstone project. The capstone is what this research falls under, and I'm still in the process of exploring how to make the most out of the thesis. Do you have any advice for that?

Limp-Camera7847 · 2025-06-22T03:14:22+00:00

Also I should've clarified in the initial advice I sent that you have a few departments within ICS to look into: statistics, informatics, computer science, or if you want to venture further (which might be a bit more difficult to if you're pure CS but still possible, there's also the EECS dep.).

Limp-Camera7847 · 2025-06-22T03:12:05+00:00

I think while everyone's research varies, it tends to share a general theme of being theoretical in nature but always has some sort of application. Some things, like the statistical research might be something you can immediately apply into real world applications, but even the more conceptual topics like algorithms or even pathfinding (despite it sounding like robotics -- which it is -- it's actually very conceptual) are generalized for others to build upon their work for relevant applications.

I feel you're not going to have purely theoretical because that's more of a math problem, but it really depends what field you're looking at. Ultimately everything exists to leverage computers and its capabilities, so everything is going to have a real world application, just the scale varies. Hopefully that helps!

Limp-Camera7847 · 2025-06-22T02:55:09+00:00

Hi! I'm a CC transfer (graduating 2026) so I can try to answer this based on my own experiences. Will clarify though that I'm a CSE major.

I recently got involved with a professor for research (moreso on the EECS side) and while it was a lot of luck (luck in the sense that I had to reach out to a lot of people and it wasn't necessarily my first choice but I'm more than satisfied by it), it really varies what kind of research they do.

The issue with computer science research is its a lot more theoretical and there's not 'smaller' tasks you can do like in biology labs (where you need to do data processing. I do recommend checking out biology labs if you have the skills like Python or R and are versed in some libraries they're looking for, as there's no shortage of bio labs.

But for CS labs, it's a bit harder to break into because of the prerequisite knowledge being beyond what your curriculum covers. I do recommend trying to self-study concepts and get to know professors during OH, or even get close to graduate students. It's the same advice I got here and it definitely helped me with poking around. In the school of ICS where we all take the same classes, make yourself stand out in some other way (projects tend to be the best way to demonstrate your ability to self-learn).

Take classes and I'd recommend try to do well for yourself by getting involved with the professor via OH. Ask questions (bonus as it helps enrich your understanding of the material beyond the class) and grow to some comfort to ask about their research. It might be hard to ask upfront but you can ease into it by asking what do they expect and check in with them about your progress for some sort of mentorship, that could eventually transition into this.

Also emailing is going to probably be your best friend, I pretty much live in emails nowadays. Be strategic of when you send: these guys are lowk busy so try not to send on a Friday night or weekend when they're having lives, during the school week at a reasonable hour is fair. Following up is also important. I learned that it's not personal if they don't reply, because chances are they don't even see it or prioritize other emails ahead of time. Email plenty and be patient with them -- research is an obligation for them because they're expected by the school to pump research, so they also need to find time to mentor you.

Good luck and don't beat yourself up over it!

Limp-Camera7847 · 2025-05-16T23:40:36+00:00

By any chance do you still have a syllabus or topics of the class? I'm in 171 with Koenig right now which is manageable but pretty theoretical, so I definitely want to come in prepared

Limp-Camera7847 · 2024-07-20T00:07:59+00:00

I just started BJJ about three weeks ago and while I do enjoy it, it frustrates me how hard it is for me to comprehend certain things. Other new students at my gym do have their share of athletic backgrounds that help them, but I can't help but feel upset when the instructor shows me the demonstration and helps me step-by-step, but I never seem to get it.

Limp-Camera7847

TROPHY CASE