Office for Undergraduate Research and Artistry
Faculty and Graduate Student Mentors
Why mentor undergraduate students in research and artistry?
Undergraduate research and artistry projects are rewarding “apprenticeships”. Mentoring an undergraduate student in a research or artistry project gives you the chance to help a student develop critical experiences in the field that extend beyond the classroom. You are deepening a student’s understanding of disciplinary content, while including the student as a participant in the discovery of new knowledge in your field. Many students and mentors continue to correspond as the students advance in their own careers, and you may find your role particularly rewarding as your former mentees develop into your colleagues.
Undergraduate research and artistry is mutually beneficial. You may earn some positive marks towards your promotion (and/or tenure) and some highly motivated help with your own work. Undergraduate students get opportunities to explore their field in a hands-on way and grow skills that will advance their careers.
Undergraduate students bring fresh perspectives to a project. Undergraduate students, because they are newer to the field, may not have ingrained habits or biases. If you create an environment in which undergrads are encouraged to ask questions and supply ideas, they can push your own work in directions you didn’t anticipate. Your projects may be in need of a skill set traditionally outside your field, and recruiting an undergraduate student from a different major might be a perfect fit.
Resources for Faculty, Graduate Students & Others
How to get involved
While many of our CSU students’ mentors are faculty members, many other mentors are post-docs, graduate students or have other roles (sometimes even outside the university). There are many ways you can get involved:
If you already have an active research or artistry program and feel comfortable seeking undergraduate students for positions, we encourage you to use the Handshake platform to advertise your position. By advertising on Handshake, a tool used by CSU’s Career Center, your advertisement will reach a broad audience of students, making the opportunity and selection more equitable. See “How to Post Opportunities” page.
If you already are mentoring students, encourage them to become active through OURA programming. Students attend our responsible conduct of research (RCR) training and our “research etc.” workshops, they can present their work at CURC, and participate in the Mentored Research and Artistry Distinction. If you are mentoring a student that is you feel could be a strong candidate for a nationally competitive scholarship, reach out to the Office for Scholarship and Fellowship Advising.
Join the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR). CSU has an enhanced membership to CUR, an international organization that strengthens undergraduate research in STEM and non-STEM disciplines. You can join CUR with a free faculty membership (activate your enhanced benefits here), and then you will be able to access to free webinars, online professional development and other resources.