Student Involvement

Student involvement is an integral part of your student experience. There are hundreds of organizations and involvement opportunities available to students. For a listing of student organizations, please visit the Office of Student Activities and Involvement here. The College of Health and Human Performance offers the following sponsored programs:

HHP Ambassadors
University Scholars Program
Undergraduate Research
Study Abroad

HHP Ambassadors

HHP Ambassadors serve as the “face” of the College and represents HHP at various events including Freshman Preview, New Student Convocation, HHP Tailgates, Spring Awards, Internship/Job Fair and more! We are looking for outgoing and enthusiastic students to represent our College at recruiting, alumni and community events.
Learn More.

The University Scholars Program

The University Scholars Program presents UF undergraduates with the opportunity to work closely with faculty mentors while pursuing fundamental research, exploring scholarly inquiry and developing new knowledge. University Scholars will receive a $1,750 research stipend (two payments with $750 in Fall and $1,000 in Spring). Faculty mentors will receive $500. Scholars also have the opportunity to publish their work in UF’s on-line Journal of Undergraduate Research, and will present their research in the University Scholars Symposium.

Eligibility and Nominations

Applicants must have at least one more year of undergraduate studies remaining and an overall GPA of 3.00 or better. To be eligible, you must not earn your bachelor’s degree before spring 2026. For 2025-2026 applicants, the student can conduct research during summer/fall 2025 and spring 2026. Selected students must register for 0-5 credit hours of Undergraduate Research during Summer A/C, fall 2025 and spring 2026. Please confer with your academic advisor and faculty mentor to determine which research course you should register. The instructor of record for these courses will be the faculty mentor identified in the USP application. Students will be evaluated on their progress toward research goals and the agreement of expectations by the faculty mentor.

HHP Nominations should include:

The application: 2025-2026 USP Application
A resume, not to exceed two pages
A letter of support from the faculty supervisor (mentor) including a statement noting if human and/or animal IRB training is required
Research problem statement, rationale and significance of the study (maximum 1 page)
Appropriate human or animal subjects protection training certificate (see below)
Agreement of expectations: The mentor and student must determine the expectations of the University Scholar. This agreement should indicate expectations for summer/fall 2025 and spring 2026. Expectations may include number of hours, products/outcomes of this research opportunity, working with other team members, submission of conference abstract, etc. (maximum 1 page)

Submission packets are due by Thursday, January 30, 2025 by 11:59pm. Applications can be submitted via Dropbox folder or via email to HHPASA@hhp.ufl.edu.

Questions? Email us at HHPASA@hhp.ufl.edu.

Selection Process

A maximum of five HHP University Scholars, distributed across the Departments of Applied Physiology & Kinesiology; Health Education & Behavior; Sport Management, and Tourism, Hospitality & Event Management will be selected. Awardees must attend and participate in all University Scholar Program activities that are sponsored by the Center for Undergraduate Research.

Students selected for USP must register for the appropriate number of credits hours for the Undergraduate Research course in their department. Please consult your faculty mentor for the appropriate number of credit hours (can register for 0-5 credits per term). Students must speak to a HHP academic adviser to register for the appropriate undergraduate research course. Click on one of the links below for more details:

Presentation of Research Projects

Awardees must submit a final paper and present at the University Scholars Symposium during Spring 2025.

Animal and Human Subjects Protection

Working with your mentor you will decide if you should complete the animal and/or human subjects protection training/certification program.

Protecting Human Research Participants
Animal training for IRB: IACUC training page [under first time users].

>> Additional information at cur.aa.ufl.edu/programs-university-scholars-program/

Undergraduate Research

The primary purpose of this course is to provide the student an opportunity for involvement in supervised research experiences. “Research” is operationally defined here as mentored, but self-directed work that enables individual students or a small group of students to explore an issue of interest to them and to communicate the results to others. Projects may involve inquiry, design, investigation, discovery, or application, depending on the topic and mentor. The student will be aware of how her or his project fits into and contributes to solving the larger problem to which it belongs. The student will usually assist a faculty member with a research project by helping to prepare the study and contributing in a meaningful way in meeting the objectives of the study. The student may also work with graduate students who are performing research supervised by a research faculty member.

Opportunites and requirements differ by department. Click on a link below for more detailed information: