Skouta Lab
Photo courtesy of the Adler Lab
Rocheleau Teaching Lab
Blanchard Lab

Many professionals cite undergraduate research and teaching experiences as pivotal in their career development. To access these experiential opportunities students must often navigate a hidden network to find research and teaching opportunities positions that are often never broadly advertised.  The UMass PROPEL program promotes equitable access to these opportunities for all undergraduate students at UMass from all backgrounds.  

Mentors can efficiently post positions during the four yearly rounds and review applications from a pool of thousands of students. To post a project login using your NET ID and request mentor status.  

Students gain from knowing the defined periods when opportunities will be offered, what types of opportunities are available and learning to use the resources available in the Office of Undergraduate Research, the CNS Career and Professional Development Center and the CoE Career Development and Experiential Learning Center. Login in using your NET ID and create your profile to use in your applications. 

Timeline for 2025-2026 Round 1

For Research Mentors

  • Tuesday, July 22 at 6:00am - First day to post projects
  • Friday, August 15 at 8:00pm - Last day to post projects
  • Saturday, August 23 at 6:00am - First day to review applications
  • Monday, September 15 at 6:00pm - Last day to review applications

For Students

  • Saturday, August 16 at 6:00am - First day to apply for projects
  • Saturday, August 23 at 5:00am - Last day to apply for projects
See all rounds

Recent Blog Posts

PROPEL has a new home in the Office of Undergraduate Research and Studies (OURS)!

Thursday, July 17, 2025 - 9:52am

Last year, with support from the Office of Faculty Development Mutual Mentoring program and HHMI, PROPEL reached out to engage departments in CNS and ENG. The result was mentors from 12 departments posting 96 projects. There were 1926 unique student logins from 55 majors in 10 colleges with mentors accepting 507 students across 32 majors.  

Support PROPEL during UMassGives!

Tuesday, April 22, 2025 - 4:58pm

In our first year there were 96 projects from 12 Departments. Over 400 students from 27+ Majors were accepted into projects. PROPEL will be raising money during this year’s hashtag #UMassGives campaign on April 29 and 30. We hope to use this money towards creating new research projects that students can participate in and funding mentor-mentee lunches next year! Our “Power Hour” is from 12 - 1 p.m. on April 29! If we receive the greatest number of gifts during that hour, we will win an additional $2000, or $500 for second place.