Student research can be a powerful educational tool whose benefits are touted by educators at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Providing a meaningful research experience at the undergraduate level faces several challenges as students are less academically mature, have limited time, and do not have an extensive knowledge base to draw from. Creation of a successful research experience as part of a course project requires careful planning in terms of available topics, project structure, and faculty oversight. At the Air Force Academy, we teach a hands-on senior level security course with a final project. We have structured the final project to attempt to provide a realistic research experience for our students.