To be eligible for the 2026 HERE program, applicants should:

• Currently be in their first or second year of an undergraduate program at the UH Main Campus, including programs housed at UH Sugar Land
• Not plan on graduating before Spring 2028
• Have at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA

All majors are eligible to apply, and no prior research experience is required. Additionally, students may apply to both HERE and SURF in the same year.

Students must complete an online application which includes providing:

• Answers to five free-response questions
• A current resume
  • Be sure to list any awards, honors, activities, research, jobs, service, leadership, etc.
  • If you need assistance creating or updating your resume, University Career Services offers resume support resources and counseling
• An unofficial transcript
  • You can download a copy of your unofficial transcript in myUH Self Service by going to "Academic Records"

Applications will not be reviewed until after the application deadline has passed. Decisions will be sent via email in early April.

The staff of the Office of Undergraduate Research and Major Awards is unable to share specific information about the assessment of individual applications after the decisions have been made.

The 2026 HERE Program will take place May 18-29, 2026.

Programming will occur Monday-Friday from 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Participants are expected to attend all ten days and be present for all scheduled activities each day.

In the mornings, students will meet as a cohort to hear a guest speaker lecture or discussion. Speakers will present on a variety of different topics related to the program theme. Speakers will range in their subject expertise (from the humanities to the sciences) as well as their professional experience (from academic researchers to community leaders). These lectures or discussions aim to provide students with not only a multidisciplinary understanding of the theme but also examples of how research is conducted and used in different disciplines.

In the afternoons, students will meet in small seminar groups with their faculty mentor. Within the seminar group, students will form smaller research teams. Each team, guided by their faculty mentor, will craft a research proposal. The structure of seminar groups may vary from mentor to mentor, but will typically involve activities such as reading academic articles, developing research questions, and finding reliable informational resources. During seminar sessions, students will hone their critical thinking and teamwork skills, learn how to start the research process, and investigate exciting topics related to the program theme.

Students will present their research proposals to the cohort on the final day of the HERE program.

HERE participants are expected to:

• Attend the HERE orientation session
• Attend faculty and community leader-led lectures and discussions
• Participate in mentor-led seminar sessions
• Work in a small team of 2-3 students to develop a research question and proposal with faculty-mentor guidance
• Deliver a research proposal presentation
• Complete HERE program surveys and reflection assignments

Housing and transportation will not be provided. Participants are expected to make their own accomodations.

HERE participants will receive a $1,000 scholarship after their successful completion of the program. Scholarships will be disbursed to your UH account via UH's Scholarships and Financial Aid office, usually in early or mid-June. Please note:

• Typically, HERE scholarships will be processed as a refund from your UH account. Please ensure you set up or update your refund preferences as needed.
• If your HERE scholarship is disbursed and you have an outstanding balance on your UH account, your scholarship will be automatically applied to your balance first. This may result in a smaller refund or no refund at all. To receive the full amount of your scholarship as a refund, you must not have an outstanding balance on your UH account.

HERE recipients will receive 2 points towards the Honors in Co-Curricular Engagement (HCCE) transcript designation. The HCCE transcript designation is awarded to students upon graduation who pursue a broad range of experiential learning opportunities from freshman to senior year. Students can pursue undergraduate research, internships, learning away and abroad, service learning, leadership experience and other academic enrichment opportunities.

Please contact the HERE Program Manager Katie Welsh if you have any questions or require additional information.