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Vertically Integrated Projects

Join a VIP team and earn academic credits for working alongside faculty pursuing ambitious, multi-semester projects. Scroll down to see project details!

 

Submit student inquiry form to get started

Work on faculty led, interdisciplinary teams tackling complex challenges.

Teams need students with diverse skills, interests, talents, and majors. You don’t have to already be an expert to join a team.

To get started, follow these steps:

  1. Take a look at the VIP teams in each of the sections below.
  2. Complete this inquiry form. You will be able to select up to THREE teams. Once we have your information, faculty leads will reach out to you to discuss you interests in specific projects.
  3. Please give about 1-2 weeks for faculty leads to get back to you.
  4. If you have not heard back from faculty, or have questions for them, you are also welcome to email them directly. Here are some email templates to help you craft an email to a VIP faculty lead.
  5. Need help finding the right project or need other assistance? Email us at vip@boisestate.edu for a consultation.

Active and enrolling for Spring 2026

Browse the VIPs below to find one that interests you. Once you have identified teams that interest you, complete this inquiry form. Note that you will be able to select up to THREE teams.

Across the Universe: Astronomy in the Solar System and Beyond

Learn more

The Art of Scientific Visualization

Learn more

Art-Science Integration (Art-Sci)

Learn more

Autonomous Robotic Systems

In-person: Work like an engineering company to design, build, and compete with an autonomous robot.

Brain Health: VR-Scent for Alzheimer’s Detection

HYBRID: Scent enabled VR worlds

Computing Across Curricula

Let's help each other use computers to make our classes and research easier.

Crossing the Boise State Brain Bridge: Neuroscience for the Community

Hybrid. Join this community-focused project that brings neuroscience research to communities and service professionals in engaging, innovative ways.

Digital Humanities: Melville’s Marginalia

HYBRID: Apply digital tools for Humanities research.

Emerging Technologies: From IoT to Big Data

In-person.

Food Systems

Food Systems

Genome 2 Phenome

In-person

Graphic Histories

Be a part of the Graphic Histories team and contribute to the research, development, and production of illustrated representations of historical events.

Green Materials – Maresunex

Join this team to explore ways to mitigate the materials supply crisis associated with the green technology revolution.

New VIP: Hands-on Sensor Computing

This team will place, power, and communicate with small, remotely placed sensors used to measure various life sciences processes.

Housing Opportunities for All

HYBRID: Address Treasure Valley housing issues

New VIP: IBO Bird Window Strike Surveys

Help us survey for dead birds and document dangerous windows so that we can advocate for change on campus and beyond.

IBO Habitat Restoration

Join our team to help restore a new channel of the Boise River, while working to monitor the plants and wildlife that call this ecosystem home.

Immersive Virtual Reality

Hybrid: Capture and create VR worlds

Inflammation and STEM Cells

In-person: Research new treatments for Parkinson’s disease

Informatics Skunkworks

HYBRID: Machine Learning

Innovative Research in CyberAI

Hybrid: Join this course to explore and address research challenges at the intersection of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.

Leading Innovative Energy Design

In-person: Design solutions for our sustainable energy future

Mapping Sagebrush Restoration

HYBRID: Field and lab work to save sagebrush

MaRS: Mapping and Remote Sensing

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NASA Micro-g NExT

In-person: Work on the NASA MICRO-g NEXT CHALLENGE

NASA SUITS

In-person: Work on the NASA SUITS Challenge

Net Zero for Boise State

In-person: Join this team to implement specific actions on campus which will move us toward our goal of reducing green house gas emissions.

Nucleic Acid Memory

In-person: Pioneering ways to use DNA as a low cost and highly stable data storage material

Organoid Intelligence

In-person: Create 3D biological computers that sense, learn, and control by merging tissue engineering, microelectronics, and machine learning.

Plant-Soil Interactions in a Changing World

In-person: Study environmental change and ecosystems

Plasma Medicine and Agriculture

In-person: Explore plasma applications

PRaMS (Parenting, Reproduction, and Mating Strategies)

In-person: Join this team to test evolutionary hypotheses related to parenting, reproduction, and mating strategies.

Project SCIENTIA: Science Communication Laboratory

Project SCIENTIA: Science Communication Laboratory

Research in Economics

New VIP enrolling for Fall 2025. This course exposes students to economic research with focus on data analysis and public policy, addressing environmental, social, and economic issues.

Shake it Up After School

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Smart Materials and Systems

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Special Education Research Lab

Support individuals with disabilities through groundbreaking research

VIP 100 (Entire Semester/1st 7 Weeks)

VIP 100

Water in the Mountains

Join this team to learn water resources research and management in mountainous western US.

Active but temporarily not enrolling

Interested in one of these VIPs? These VIPs are active but not enrolling students at the moment. Check back at a later date to see if the enrolling status has changed.

Biology of Migratory Birds

Full for Spring 2026. Learn about the biology of migratory birds.

Bio-Innovations

In-person: Data intensive DNA sequencing. On hiatus for Spring 2026

Books in Every Home

On hiatus for Spring 2026: Books in Every Home

Brain and Addiction

Full for Spring 2026. Join this team to find new therapeutical targets for drug addiction treatment

Building Resilient Communities

On hiatus for Spring 2026

C3: Complex Communities

This VIP is not enrolling for Spring 2026

Human Cooperation Lab

Help solve an environmental issue in our community: On hiatus for Spring 2026

Raptor Conservation

Not accepting students in Spring 2026

Vaccine Development

FULL FOR FALL 2025. In-person: Vaccine construction using molecular cloning.

New and upcoming

We are always working on creating new and exciting VIP teams. To enroll, look for these VIPs in the ‘Active and enrolling’ section in September for VIPs starting in the Spring, and in March for VIPs starting in the Fall.

Starting Summer 2026: IBO Bird Banding Techniques

Join the Intermountain Bird Observatory team to learn bird banding, data collection, and long-term monitoring techniques.

Archived

Check out some of the cool VIPs students have participated in the past.

Audio Signal Processing

Audio Signal Processing

Clean Energy Magnets

Archived VIP

Human Animal Interactions

Archived VIP

Idaho Entrepreneurs in Action

Idaho Entrepreneurs in Action

Let’s Light up Science

Archived VIP

Living and Working in the West

Archived VIP

Math in Natural Dynamics

Archived VIP

Narratives and Natural Language Models

Archived VIP

Nature’s Cipher: Translating the Natural World

Archived VIP

Rural Education Collaborative

Archived VIP

Shared Stories Lab

Shared Stories Lab

Benefits of VIP Program

“The most important skill I’ve gained through VIP so far has been being comfortable communicating and working as part of a small team. This involves bringing up my own problems and confusions, and also listening to others. This hasn’t been challenging to do in this environment, it’s just helping me overall gain confidence since I am normally a shy person.” VIP 200 student Fall 2020

You can check out other research  opportunities on the Office of Undergraduate Research web site.

The VIP program and the Office of Undergraduate Research are both based in the Institute for Inclusive and Transformative Scholarship (IFITS).

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