How does undergraduate research at USC compare with Boston College?

USC tends to suit a student who wants a large, research-intensive environment with many labs, institutes, and professional-school connections. Undergraduates can pursue work across engineering, computing, neuroscience, health, business, social science, film, and the humanities. The scale of USC’s research enterprise creates a wide menu of possible projects, but students often need to be proactive: identify faculty whose work fits, send targeted outreach, and build enough preparation to be useful in a lab.

At USC, research can begin through course-based projects, departmental programs, summer opportunities, or direct faculty contact. Students in highly active fields such as engineering and the sciences may find numerous labs, but some positions can be competitive, and introductory roles may involve data cleaning, literature reviews, or lab maintenance before students take on independent work. USC’s location in Los Angeles also adds opportunities tied to hospitals, startups, public agencies, and the entertainment industry.

Boston College may appeal more to a student who wants research in a smaller, more undergraduate-centered academic setting. Faculty access can feel more personal, particularly in departments where professors teach many undergraduates and supervise small research teams. BC has meaningful research activity in psychology, biology, economics, education, social work, environmental studies, and the humanities, but it offers fewer total labs and specialized facilities than USC.

At BC, a student who develops strong relationships with professors can often move into substantive faculty-led or independent work relatively early. The Jesuit liberal-arts structure also makes it attractive for research that connects disciplinary study with ethics, public service, education, or social impact. For maximum breadth and access to large-scale research infrastructure, USC has the edge; for close mentorship and a more intimate campus research culture, BC can be especially compelling.