This study examines why and how science and social science faculty at predominantly undergraduate colleges engage in undergraduate research (UR) while successfully attending to their scholarly and professional responsibilities. Given the increase in attention to UR as an innovative practice enhancing undergraduate education, most studies have focused on students as the primary beneficiaries. Few studies have considered the experiences of faculty who facilitate undergraduate students' learning of research. This study addresses (1) why faculty include UR in their work; (2) how faculty organize their professional and scholarly lives to participate in the planning and doing of UR; and (3) from the perspective of participating faculty, how institutional (campus) context may hinder or support faculty efforts in UR. Conducted at four predominantly undergraduate institutions, each promoting a visible commitment to UR along with dedicated institutional resources, this study relied on two rounds of interviews. The first round of interviews included 38 UR science and social science faculty (between 8-11 from each institution), along with five administrators (between 1-2 from each college). The second round interviews included additional interviews with nine of the faculty (between 1-3 from each site) from the first round of interviews. In addition, professional documents from faculty and institutional sources regarding UR were analyzed. The study resulted in three main findings. (1) Involvement in UR enables faculty to both advance their own scholarship and promote undergraduate learning and development. (2) Faculty's dedication to their own research guides how they organize their efforts within UR. (3) The interplay between the institutional setting (including the context of an undergraduate college as well as institutional initiatives to support UR) and faculty members (who situate the work of UR in their careers) shapes what UR can look like within an institution. Together, these findings offer possibilities for reasons and ways science and social science faculty at predominantly undergraduate institutions may decide to take on UR and sustain such involvement in their careers. Study findings may inform faculty who are considering involvement in UR, faculty who are already participating in UR, and institutions aiming to enhance support of UR faculty. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]