Volunteer Services

UCLA Health Sciences (UHS) Undergraduate Research Clearance Guide

Instructions

In collaboration with the UCLA Undergraduate Research Center, the UCLA Health Sciences Volunteer Office facilitates onboarding and clearance for UCLA undergraduate students who plan to enroll in SRP-99 or upper-division research courses with UCLA Health Sciences faculty. 

UCLA Undergraduate Students must independently secure a research opportunity with a UCLA Health Sciences faculty member AND complete the following:

  1. Submit Application: Register through your mento’s Opportunity Link and submit your pre-screening application for eligibility review.
  2. Start Onboarding: Obtain confirmation email that you are eligible to start onboarding and complete all of the steps on the dashboard.
  3. Obtain Clearance: Receive the clearance confirmation email that you are cleared and instructions on how to get started.
  4. Maintain Active Status: Regularly report your hours under your Scope of Duties assignment and complete annual requirements. 

Contracts can only be generated through the Message Center once these steps are complete.

Important Notes:

  • The UCLA Health Sciences Volunteer Office does not process course enrollment. For enrollment questions, contact the appropriate course representatives (e.g., SRP-99 or upper-division).
  • The Volunteer Office does not process onboarding for non-UCLA students seeking credit from their home institution.

Important Dates and Required Actions

To facilitate a smooth enrollment process and avoid delays or late submissions, the details below outlines key dates and corresponding actions that must be completed:

 UCLA Academic Quarter New Enrollments Continuing Enrollments
Prior to Week 0

Identify a faculty member and request their opportunity link to apply and start onboarding.


  • Begin early—onboarding typically takes 1–3 weeks (excluding background checks or health clearances.

  • If faculty do not have an no active opportunity link, they must contact the Volunteer office to create one and enrollment may be deferred to the next quarter.

    • Log in to your Volunteer Dashboard to verify placement with your designated faculty. 


  • If active and placed, no action needed. Contact the Volunteer Office if you cannot generate a contract.

  • If not placed, contact the program coordinator immediately for reactivation options.

    • For questions, please visit our FAQ.

    Start of Week 0 New requests processed as capacity allows. Earlier submissions will be prioritized, so delays may occur for later requests. Begin re-onboarding with the program coordinator if needed; earlier submissions are prioritized.
    Start of Week 1 Last chance to start onboarding. Requests submitted after this week may result in deferring enrollment to the next quarter. Last chance to start re-onboarding. Requests submitted after this week may result in deferring enrollment to the next quarter.
    Start of Week 2

    New requests will not be expedited and may be deferred to the next quarter.


    Contract submission deadline is Friday. Clearances must be completed to generate a contract. 


    See below to determine when you can generate a contract based on your clearance email date.

    Generating A Contract After Clearance

    After completing onboarding, you’ll receive an email confirming your clearance. Our system uses UCLA IDs to verify clearances for contract generation. Clearance updates sync with the Message Center at scheduled times—see the table below for details.

    If you received the Clearance Email: Try to generate the SRP99-199 contract:
    Before 6:40am After 7am
    Before 12:40pm After 1pm
    Before 4:40pm After 5pm
    After 4:40pm After 7am the following day

    If you are still having issues generating a contract after being cleared, please contact the Volunteer Office to check and troubleshoot.