diff --git a/frontend/index.html b/frontend/index.html
index d518aeec..40580344 100644
--- a/frontend/index.html
+++ b/frontend/index.html
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
     <meta charset="UTF-8" />
     <link rel="icon" type="image/svg+xml" href="/vite.svg" />
     <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
-    <title>Vite + React</title>
+    <title>UCSB Rec</title>
 </head>
 <body>
 <div id="root"></div>
diff --git a/frontend/src/main/components/Nav/AppNavbar.jsx b/frontend/src/main/components/Nav/AppNavbar.jsx
index 17824854..9c618829 100644
--- a/frontend/src/main/components/Nav/AppNavbar.jsx
+++ b/frontend/src/main/components/Nav/AppNavbar.jsx
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ export default function AppNavbar({
       >
         <Container>
           <Navbar.Brand as={Link} to="/">
-            Example
+            UCSB Rec
           </Navbar.Brand>
 
           <Navbar.Toggle />
@@ -49,6 +49,11 @@ export default function AppNavbar({
 
           <Navbar.Collapse className="justify-content-between">
             <Nav className="mr-auto">
+              {currentUser && currentUser.loggedIn && (
+                <Nav.Link as={Link} to="/requests/create">
+                  Request Recommendation
+                </Nav.Link>
+              )}
               {hasRole(currentUser, "ROLE_ADMIN") && (
                 <NavDropdown
                   title="Admin"
diff --git a/frontend/src/tests/components/Nav/AppNavbar.test.jsx b/frontend/src/tests/components/Nav/AppNavbar.test.jsx
index 8b4efff0..54314ae3 100644
--- a/frontend/src/tests/components/Nav/AppNavbar.test.jsx
+++ b/frontend/src/tests/components/Nav/AppNavbar.test.jsx
@@ -233,4 +233,61 @@ describe("AppNavbar tests", () => {
     expect(screen.queryByText("Completed Requests")).not.toBeInTheDocument();
     expect(screen.queryByText("Statistics")).not.toBeInTheDocument();
   });
+
+  test("renders Request Recommendation link for logged in users", async () => {
+    const currentUser = currentUserFixtures.userOnly;
+    const doLogin = vi.fn();
+
+    render(
+      <QueryClientProvider client={queryClient}>
+        <MemoryRouter>
+          <AppNavbar currentUser={currentUser} doLogin={doLogin} />
+        </MemoryRouter>
+      </QueryClientProvider>,
+    );
+
+    await screen.findByText("Request Recommendation");
+    const requestLink = screen.getByText("Request Recommendation");
+    expect(requestLink).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(requestLink).toHaveAttribute("href", "/requests/create");
+  });
+
+  test("Request Recommendation link appears for professor users", async () => {
+    const currentUser = currentUserFixtures.professorUser;
+    const doLogin = vi.fn();
+
+    render(
+      <QueryClientProvider client={queryClient}>
+        <MemoryRouter>
+          <AppNavbar currentUser={currentUser} doLogin={doLogin} />
+        </MemoryRouter>
+      </QueryClientProvider>,
+    );
+
+    await screen.findByText("Request Recommendation");
+    const requestLink = screen.getByText("Request Recommendation");
+    expect(requestLink).toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  test("Request Recommendation link does not show when not logged in", async () => {
+    const currentUser = currentUserFixtures.notLoggedIn;
+    const systemInfo = systemInfoFixtures.showingBoth;
+    const doLogin = vi.fn();
+
+    render(
+      <QueryClientProvider client={queryClient}>
+        <MemoryRouter>
+          <AppNavbar
+            currentUser={currentUser}
+            systemInfo={systemInfo}
+            doLogin={doLogin}
+          />
+        </MemoryRouter>
+      </QueryClientProvider>,
+    );
+
+    expect(
+      screen.queryByText("Request Recommendation"),
+    ).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
 });
diff --git a/frontend/src/tests/indexHtml.test.jsx b/frontend/src/tests/indexHtml.test.jsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c032ca26
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/tests/indexHtml.test.jsx
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+import { readFileSync } from "fs";
+import { resolve } from "path";
+import { test, expect } from "vitest";
+
+test("frontend/index.html has title 'UCSB Rec'", () => {
+  const indexPath = resolve(process.cwd(), "index.html");
+  const html = readFileSync(indexPath, "utf-8");
+  const m = html.match(/<title>(.*?)<\/title>/i);
+  expect(m).not.toBeNull();
+  expect(m[1]).toBe("UCSB Rec");
+});
diff --git a/src/main/java/edu/ucsb/cs156/rec/ExampleApplication.java b/src/main/java/edu/ucsb/cs156/rec/ExampleApplication.java
index 6a3ffea2..70cf0f40 100644
--- a/src/main/java/edu/ucsb/cs156/rec/ExampleApplication.java
+++ b/src/main/java/edu/ucsb/cs156/rec/ExampleApplication.java
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 package edu.ucsb.cs156.rec;
 
+import edu.ucsb.cs156.rec.services.RequestTypeService;
 import edu.ucsb.cs156.rec.services.wiremock.WiremockService;
 import java.time.ZonedDateTime;
 import java.util.Optional;
@@ -21,6 +22,9 @@ public class ExampleApplication {
 
   @Autowired WiremockService wiremockService;
 
+  @Autowired(required = false)
+  RequestTypeService requestTypeService;
+
   @Bean
   public DateTimeProvider utcDateTimeProvider() {
     return () -> {
@@ -49,6 +53,9 @@ public ApplicationRunner wiremockApplicationRunner() {
   public ApplicationRunner developmentApplicationRunner() {
     return arg -> {
       log.info("development mode");
+      if (requestTypeService != null) {
+        requestTypeService.loadRequestTypes();
+      }
       log.info("developmentApplicationRunner completed");
     };
   }
diff --git a/src/main/java/edu/ucsb/cs156/rec/services/RequestTypeService.java b/src/main/java/edu/ucsb/cs156/rec/services/RequestTypeService.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6875ee3b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/edu/ucsb/cs156/rec/services/RequestTypeService.java
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+package edu.ucsb.cs156.rec.services;
+
+import edu.ucsb.cs156.rec.entities.RequestType;
+import edu.ucsb.cs156.rec.repositories.RequestTypeRepository;
+import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.List;
+import lombok.AllArgsConstructor;
+import lombok.Data;
+import lombok.extern.slf4j.Slf4j;
+import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
+import org.springframework.stereotype.Service;
+
+/** Service for managing Request Types. */
+@Service
+@Slf4j
+public class RequestTypeService {
+
+  @Autowired private RequestTypeRepository requestTypeRepository;
+
+  /** List of hardcoded request types to be loaded at startup. */
+  private static final List<String> HARDCODED_REQUEST_TYPES =
+      Arrays.asList(
+          "CS Department BS/MS program",
+          "Scholarship or Fellowship",
+          "MS program (other than CS Dept BS/MS)",
+          "PhD program",
+          "Other");
+
+  /** Result class for loadRequestTypes method. */
+  @Data
+  @AllArgsConstructor
+  public static class LoadResult {
+    private int loaded;
+    private int skipped;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Load hardcoded request types into the database if they don't already exist.
+   *
+   * <p>This method checks for each hardcoded request type and only creates it if it's not already
+   * in the database.
+   *
+   * @return LoadResult containing the number of types loaded and skipped
+   */
+  public LoadResult loadRequestTypes() {
+    log.info("Loading hardcoded request types...");
+    int loadedCount = 0;
+    int skippedCount = 0;
+
+    for (String type : HARDCODED_REQUEST_TYPES) {
+      if (requestTypeRepository.findByRequestType(type).isEmpty()) {
+        RequestType requestType = RequestType.builder().requestType(type).build();
+        requestTypeRepository.save(requestType);
+        log.info("Loaded request type: {}", type);
+        loadedCount++;
+      } else {
+        log.debug("Request type already exists, skipping: {}", type);
+        skippedCount++;
+      }
+    }
+
+    log.info("Request type loading completed. Loaded: {}, Skipped: {}", loadedCount, skippedCount);
+    return new LoadResult(loadedCount, skippedCount);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/main/resources/application-development.properties b/src/main/resources/application-development.properties
index 3e3da24c..e9de84ee 100644
--- a/src/main/resources/application-development.properties
+++ b/src/main/resources/application-development.properties
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 logging.level.sql=DEBUG
 logging.level.org.hibernate.type.descriptor.sql.BasicBinder=TRACE
-spring.datasource.url=jdbc:h2:file:./target/db-development
+spring.datasource.url=jdbc:h2:file:./target/db-development;AUTO_SERVER=TRUE
 spring.datasource.username=sa
 spring.datasource.password=password
 spring.h2.console.settings.web-allow-others=true
diff --git a/src/test/java/edu/ucsb/cs156/rec/services/RequestTypeServiceTest.java b/src/test/java/edu/ucsb/cs156/rec/services/RequestTypeServiceTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ec268ea7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/edu/ucsb/cs156/rec/services/RequestTypeServiceTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+package edu.ucsb.cs156.rec.services;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+import static org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.any;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.times;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.verify;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.when;
+
+import edu.ucsb.cs156.rec.entities.RequestType;
+import edu.ucsb.cs156.rec.repositories.RequestTypeRepository;
+import java.util.Optional;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.extension.ExtendWith;
+import org.mockito.InjectMocks;
+import org.mockito.Mock;
+import org.mockito.junit.jupiter.MockitoExtension;
+
+@ExtendWith(MockitoExtension.class)
+public class RequestTypeServiceTest {
+
+  @Mock private RequestTypeRepository requestTypeRepository;
+
+  @InjectMocks private RequestTypeService requestTypeService;
+
+  @Test
+  public void test_loadRequestTypes_loadsAllTypesWhenNoneExist() {
+    // Arrange
+    when(requestTypeRepository.findByRequestType(any(String.class))).thenReturn(Optional.empty());
+
+    // Act
+    RequestTypeService.LoadResult result = requestTypeService.loadRequestTypes();
+
+    // Assert
+    // Should save 5 request types: CS Department BS/MS program, Scholarship or Fellowship,
+    // MS program (other than CS Dept BS/MS), PhD program, Other
+    verify(requestTypeRepository, times(5)).save(any(RequestType.class));
+    verify(requestTypeRepository, times(5)).findByRequestType(any(String.class));
+    assertEquals(5, result.getLoaded());
+    assertEquals(0, result.getSkipped());
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void test_loadRequestTypes_skipsExistingTypes() {
+    // Arrange
+    RequestType existingType = RequestType.builder().id(1L).requestType("Other").build();
+
+    // Mock that some types exist and some don't
+    when(requestTypeRepository.findByRequestType("CS Department BS/MS program"))
+        .thenReturn(Optional.empty());
+    when(requestTypeRepository.findByRequestType("Scholarship or Fellowship"))
+        .thenReturn(Optional.of(existingType));
+    when(requestTypeRepository.findByRequestType("MS program (other than CS Dept BS/MS)"))
+        .thenReturn(Optional.empty());
+    when(requestTypeRepository.findByRequestType("PhD program")).thenReturn(Optional.empty());
+    when(requestTypeRepository.findByRequestType("Other")).thenReturn(Optional.of(existingType));
+
+    // Act
+    RequestTypeService.LoadResult result = requestTypeService.loadRequestTypes();
+
+    // Assert
+    // Should only save 3 new types (skipping "Scholarship or Fellowship" and "Other")
+    verify(requestTypeRepository, times(3)).save(any(RequestType.class));
+    verify(requestTypeRepository, times(5)).findByRequestType(any(String.class));
+    assertEquals(3, result.getLoaded());
+    assertEquals(2, result.getSkipped());
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void test_loadRequestTypes_skipsAllWhenAllExist() {
+    // Arrange
+    RequestType existingType = RequestType.builder().id(1L).requestType("Some Type").build();
+
+    when(requestTypeRepository.findByRequestType(any(String.class)))
+        .thenReturn(Optional.of(existingType));
+
+    // Act
+    RequestTypeService.LoadResult result = requestTypeService.loadRequestTypes();
+
+    // Assert
+    // Should not save any types since all already exist
+    verify(requestTypeRepository, times(0)).save(any(RequestType.class));
+    verify(requestTypeRepository, times(5)).findByRequestType(any(String.class));
+    assertEquals(0, result.getLoaded());
+    assertEquals(5, result.getSkipped());
+  }
+}
