CRA Outstanding Undergraduate Researchers Award

Addressing society’s need for a continuous supply of talented and well-educated computing researchers.

The Program: 

The CRA Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Awards program recognizes undergraduate students in North American colleges and universities who show outstanding potential in an area of computing research. While it is expected that successful nominees will have excellent academic records and will have engaged in some form of service (e.g., club leadership, teaching, peer tutoring), excellence in research is the primary consideration.  

Eligibility: 

Students enrolled as undergraduates in North American colleges or universities in Fall 2026 are eligible for the 2026-2027 award. On the nomination form, the electronic signature of the chair/head of the home department confirms that the nominee is in good standing and eligible for the award. All nominations require the electronic signature of the chair/head of a nominee’s home department. Students are not able to self-nominate.

Number of Nominees Per Department: 

Departments that grant Ph.D.s in a computing field may nominate up to four students per year. Departments that do not grant Ph.D.s in a computing field may nominate up to two students per year.

Awards: 

Multiple Undergraduate Researcher Awards will be made each year. Each award recipient will receive financial assistance of up to $1,500 to attend a research conference of their choice. In addition, some nominees will be designated as runners-up, finalists, and honorable mentions. Award recipients, runners-up, finalists, and honorable mentions will be announced on our website and directly contacted by e-mail in mid-December. These students will also receive certificates of their awards via mail.