Is ASU or Amherst better for undergraduate research opportunities?

The biggest tradeoff is breadth versus proximity: ASU has a far larger research ecosystem, with many labs, centers, graduate programs, and field-specific projects, while Amherst offers a much smaller setting where undergraduates can often build direct working relationships with professors earlier. At ASU, the range is especially valuable in engineering, computer science, health-related fields, sustainability, psychology, and other areas that benefit from large labs and specialized facilities.

ASU can provide more possible projects, including opportunities connected to its major research campuses and faculty across many departments. The practical challenge is that students need to seek out labs, contact faculty, and distinguish themselves in a much larger student body; access is not automatic simply because the university has extensive research activity.

Amherst’s smaller classes and close faculty access can make it easier to identify a mentor, discuss an idea in depth, and take on substantive responsibility in a project. However, Amherst cannot match ASU’s volume of labs or the same breadth of highly specialized research infrastructure.

For undergraduate research specifically, Amherst is the stronger choice for a student who values consistent faculty mentorship and wants a clearer path to meaningful involvement from the start. ASU may be the more compelling option when your intended field requires a particular large-scale lab, facility, or research specialty that Amherst does not offer.