Researchers: Click here
Students: Continue reading this page. . .
Questions? email the URPP and/or Dr Holli-Anne Passmore, Psychology Department Chair
What is the URPP?
The Undergraduate Research Participant Pool (URPP) allows you to earn up to an additional 3% in bonus credits to your final grade in this course by participating in psychology research at Concordia University of Edmonton. Students may earn up to 3% credit towards their final grade by participating in 3 hours of faculty research during each academic semester. (Check with your professors if URPP bonus credits are being offered in that class, and if so, how many bonus credits your professor(s) are allowing. Each professor decides what is best for their course.) Students who leave their participation until the last minute may be unable to earn the full 3 credits due to a shortage of opportunities to participate in research as some studies run for a limited time period, while other studies may limit participant numbers. We therefore recommend that you get started sooner than later.
For the 2025-2026 academic year, studies run at maximum between SEPTEMBER 2 and DECEMBER 4 for the fall semester, and between JANUARY 7 and APRIL 16, for the winter semester. But check the dates for each study posted, as some may end earlier than others.
Note that all posted studies will have gone through and been approved by CUE's Research Ethics Board or another institution's Research Ethics Board. As with all studies run through the URPP, student/participant responses are anonymous. As such, participating or not participating in URPP research for bonus credits has no impact on other course grading. These are bonus credits that are entirely separate from course work. Individual instructors have no way of knowing which students did and did not participate in studies during the semester. Each instructor offering bonus credits via participating in URPP research receives a list at the end of the semester noting student name, ID,and the amount of bonus credits to be given.
How do I participate in URPP research?
Research that Concordia faculty is conducting that you can participate in will be listed on this site. Descriptions of each research study are listed and you can choose which study, or studies, you would like to participate in. Descriptions include how many credits the study is worth and specific instructions on how to proceed.
Finish reading this page, then click [Go to URPP Current Studies List]. The list of current studies, and descriptions, will follow. READ CAREFULLY.
Can I participate in more than one study?
Yes! You can participate in as many studies as you want to so that you can earn up to 3% credit (as or many bonus research credits as specified by your professor in the syllabus for the course you are in). Check each study for how many credits it is worth, and choose your combination of studies to participate in accordingly. Note that some (usually most) studies only allow you to participate in that particular study once. Read the study information and instructions CAREFULLY.
Can I earn URRP bonus credits for more than one course and for more than a total of 3%?
Yes! For each study you participate in, YOU decide which course you want to assign those credits to. You can't split credits across two course from one study though. For example, if a study is worth 1%, you can't ask to give 0.5% to one course and 0.5% to a different course. BUT you CAN earn a total of more than 3% URPP credits across your courses. For example, if you are in two different courses and Course A is offering 3% URPP credits and Course B is offering 2%, you could participate in studies for a total of 5% across the two courses. It all depends on how many different studies are being offered any given semester. There are an increasing number of studies being offered though!
Can I earn and then assign URPP bonus credits for any course I am registered in?
No! Any CUE student is most welcome to participate in any study advertised on the URPP (as long as you meet the criteria for each study). But you can only assign your earned URPP bonus credits to a course that allows them. Check each course's Moodle page! Check with your professors! Not all instructors offer URPP bonus points!
What if I don’t want to participate in research? What if I've participated in all the studies offered at this time? Is there another way to earn a 3% credit?
Yes, instead of participating in research at Concordia (or if you still want to earn credits but you've participated in all the studies currently posted) you may choose to complete the Research Paper Option. For every research credit you would like to earn for your final grade in this course, a specific psychological research paper and accompanying 1-page quiz will be assigned to you. To earn the maximum 3 credits, you will need to complete 3 research quizzes for 3 separate research articles. You have to score 60% or greater on each research quiz to be awarded the research credit. This is to prevent random or careless responding.
Students who wish to choose this option must notify the URPP (URPP@concordia.ab.ca) by email by 11:59pm a week before the last day of classes in each semester. Late notifications of the Research Paper Option will not be accepted.
Current Studies
Studies that are currently running and accepting enrollments are listed on the URPP Studies page.
Studies for Winter 2026 run from January 7 to April 15, 2026. New studies may be added throughout each semester, so check regularly.