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SuperNova Undergraduate Research Fellows

The SuperNova Undergraduate Research Fellows Program challenges motivated undergraduate students between sophomore and senior year to build upon their STAR or undergraduate research experience in progressively demanding undergraduate research experiences, courses, and projects. The program is designed to document and recognize students for participating in research-related activity throughout their time at Drexel.

Throughout the program, students will document and reflect on their research-related experiences through digital badges. Students accepted into the SuperNova Undergraduate Research Fellows Program can seek one of two designations by graduation:

  • Undergraduate Research Fellow: To be recognized as a Research Fellow, students must earn a minimum of sixteen (16) points.
  • SuperNova: To be recognized as a SuperNova, students must earn a minimum of thirty-two (32) points. These students will have this achievement noted on their transcript and will graduate with academic distinction.

Program Structure

Progress through the SuperNova Program is tracked through a digital badging platform, Badge List. Learn more about SuperNova badges.

Activity Requirements Points
Active Research  Part-time (10+ hours/week)  2.5 points per term
  Full-time (40+ hours/week)
 5 points per term
  STAR/iSTAR 6 points
Conference Presentations On-campus presentations 1 point per presentation
  Undergraduate research conferences 1 point per application; 2 points per presentation
  Discipline-specific conferences 2 points per application; 2 points per presentation
Participation in undergraduate leadership programs Includes Honors Program Mentors, among others. 1 point per term of active participation 
Research methods courses or research-related courses Defined as a course with a strong research component, as determined by faculty. 1 point per course
Research grant applications Includes Undergraduate Research Mini-Grants, among others.  2 points per submitted application; 3 points per awarded grant
Completion of fellowship applications through UREP Required to work with UREP to receive points through the SuperNova Program. 3 points per submitted application; 5 points per awarded fellowship/scholarship
Research publications Must be submitted to and published in a peer-reviewed journal or publication. 3 points per submitted application on which student is listed as an author; 5 points per finalized publication
Patents Patent disclosure 2 points
  Patent application 5 points
  Patent issue 10 points