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Any rising junior or senior with a declared Bloustein major by the start of the Fall 2026 semester who has a 3.6 GPA in their major and is on track to graduate with an overall GPA of 3.5 or higher can be considered to become a Bloustein Undergraduate Scholar. Bloustein undergraduate majors with GPAs above 3.0 but below eligibility requirements may also apply to participate if they have been nominated by a Bloustein faculty member who has indicated their willingness to serve as their mentor. Scholars must have completed Research Methods (10:832:395) no later than the end of Fa2026 and be able to commit at least 12 hours each week to the skill building, research, and research assistant requirements of the program.

Scholars register for a BUS seminar each semester. In the Fall this seminar register for (10:775:493). In the Spring, register for (10:775:494).

The seminars will be held periodically during the scheduled block of time throughout the academic year to introduce students to various skills needed to design, execute, and present quality research. Students will work an average of six hours each week in a combination of class time, assignments, and research for their theses. Students will have weekly touch-down meetings with their faculty mentors on their independent projects.

In addition, Scholars will register each semester for a three-credit research internship working under the direction of their faculty mentor. Successful completion of the two-semester research internship will replace the 6-credit internship requirements for students majoring in Health Administration, Public Health, or Public Policy or will replace the 3-credit internship and one 3-credit elective requirement in the City & Regional Planning majors.

• Elements of research design and execution
• Developing and operationalizing a research question
• Finding relevant literature/conducting a literature review
• Types of data and identifying appropriate data sources for your study
• Responsible conduct of research and human subjects protections
• Data analysis
• Writing up results/choosing the best methods of presenting your findings
• Writing meaningful discussion & conclusion sections-understanding the implications of your findings
• Producing effective posters
• Public speaking and presenting your research to different audiences

During the two semesters under the BUS program Scholars will produce several ‘products’ that contribute to their research projects. These include, in the Fall semester, a personal library of journal articles and other research materials that are systematically stored in an on-line reference manager, an annotated bibliography of relevant literature, a PowerPoint proposal defense, and first drafts of the specific aims, background, and methods section of the thesis. In the Spring semester, Scholars will produce a final 30-35-page thesis, a PowerPoint presentation of their research, and an academic research poster.

Scholars are responsible for securing their faculty mentors who will work with them on the development and execution of their theses. Faculty mentors can be any Bloustein non-tenured, tenure-track, or tenured faculty member or Bloustein Center staff member who is interested in mentoring them for the year and has their own research-related tasks to assign under the research assistantship.

All Scholars must have a secondary reader for their theses.  This can be another member of the Bloustein faculty or any Rutgers faculty or center staff member who can provide support specific to the Scholars’ research topics. Scholars whose faculty mentor is not from the Bloustein School must have a secondary reader who is a Bloustein faculty or center staff member.

Students who wish to apply to the BUS program should start as soon as possible to secure faculty mentors.  Keep in mind the research topic that interests you as you identify and approach potential mentors. These might include an instructor with whom you have taken a course, a faculty member whom you do not know but one whose work seems related to your interests, or a research staff member in a Bloustein Center that works on a topic of interest to you. It may be helpful to consult the faculty pages on the Bloustein website: https://bloustein.rutgers.edu/faculty/ .

Make an appointment to speak with potential mentors to discuss your research interest and their willingness to serve as your mentor and to direct your research assistantship. Commitments and signatures from faculty members should be secured by the deadline date specified on the application.

Applicants should ONLY ask for help in securing a faculty mentor AFTER they have made a significant attempt to do so but have been unsuccessful. The BUS program may be able to identify additional faculty and Center staff that might be appropriate candidates for you to approach. To request our help:

1. Complete the BUS application form leaving the faculty mentor and secondary reader sections blank. Be sure to include as thorough a preliminary description of your proposed research topic as possible as this will be helpful to the program in developing suggestions for you.
2. Submit your draft application to the Bloustein Scholars program. schloars@ejb.rutgers.edu and include in your message a description of what steps, if any, you have taken to secure a faculty mentor. The last date to request program assistance in identifying a mentor is May 1st.
3. A member of the BUS program will contact you to discuss your interests and, when possible, connect you to faculty whose research interests may be relevant to your research topic.
4. The BUS program does not secure faculty mentors for students. While we are happy to make introductions, we cannot guarantee that you will be successful in your search.
5. Students will not be admitted to the BUS program until completed applications with names of faculty mentors have been approved by the BUS program. SPNs may not be requested nor will they be granted until students have been notified of their acceptance into the BUS program by the end of June. 

Once you have secured your faculty mentor, complete the BUS application form and your preliminary project description and review it with your mentor. Identify on your own or in consultation with your mentor a Rutgers faculty member who agrees to serve as a secondary reader of your thesis in the Spring semester. Secure all signatures and submit your completed application to the BUS program at scholars@ejb.rutgers.edu by end of Spring term (see Important Dates for more information). Draft applications previously submitted to the BUS program for assistance in identifying potential mentors must be finalized with names of the faculty mentor and secondary reader include and resubmitted.

1. Although you will not be able to register for the fall BUS seminar until you know if you have been accepted and you have received a SPN from the Office of Undergraduate Student Advising and Resource, applicants should be sure to reserve space in their schedule. Please check the schedule for 10:775:493 or email scholars@ejb.rutgers.edu for more information.
2. Rising seniors majoring in Public Policy, Public Health, or City & Regional Planning should have already completed Research Methods (10:832:395). Rising seniors in Health Administration who have not completed Research Methods (10:832:395) must do so during the Fall semester.
3. Rising juniors in any Bloustein major must complete Research Methods (10:832:395) no later than Fall of Junior year.

Yes! Apply to enroll for an independent study under your declared major (e.g. Public Health majors register for 10:832 independent studies; Public Policy majors register for 10:833 independent studies; Health Administration majors register for 10:501 independent studies; Planning & Public Policy majors register for 10:170 independent studies). Independent studies may be one or two semesters in length and generally count as electives in a major.

Students interested in undertaking an independent research study for credit will need to complete a project proposal for their research project and have it signed by a faculty member who has agreed to serve as their faculty advisor. Complete applications are submitted to the Office of Undergraduate Student Advising and must be approved by the Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Education. Once applications are approved, students are sent an SPN to use in registering. Students registered for independent studies but not enrolled in the BUS program are not eligible to receive the Bloustein Undergraduate Scholar designation.

One occasion, a student accepted as a BUS scholar may not satisfy the requirements of the program due to an inability to meet the expectations of the BUS seminar and/or failure to meet mentor expectations for the research assistantship. Work that is respectable but does not meet the BUS threshold for excellence will be downgraded to a year-long independent study and internship but will not be awarded the ‘Scholar’ designation at the end of the program. The student will receive the same number of credit hours for completed work. The conversion to independent studies may be required by the BUS program or requested by the student.