Finding a good mentor is essential to getting started in undergraduate research.
This guide is designed to give you everything you need to confidently navigate the process of finding the right mentor for you.
It is important to understand the commitment you are making when you choose to work with faculty on a research project. You’ll be part of a team (even if that means a team of two), and with that comes rights and responsibilities. Though it may be enjoyable and rewarding, working on research projects is not a hobby. It’s not something you can do only in your spare time, and it’s not something where the faculty member is there to help you do whatever you want to do on your “pet” project. You’re entering into a mentoring relationship, and you will be working under your mentor’s expert guidance to contribute something new to a branch of knowledge.
It’s important to know that different faculty and disciplines have different standards and expectations. And that means there are different ways of working with faculty:
To identify someone you might be interested in working with, you should begin by checking out the research, scholarship, or creative activities LU faculty members are currently engaged in. In other words, you need to do some of your own research on them.
Talk with others to find the names of possible mentors; for example, ask other students or a professional advisor in your department. Also search the Center for Undergraduate Research’s website listings of “Faculty Research Interest”. (Coming soon)
Go to some of the on-campus “poster sessions” where students are presenting their work. Poster sessions are a powerful opportunity that can enable you to informally interview people about undergraduate research opportunities, learn the names of potential mentors, and get a strong sense for what their work is actually like.
“Be prepared” is more than a general admonition. It is the best way to respectfully approach a person new to you who may turn out to help you develop your career by becoming your mentor.
When you find the name of someone you might be interested in working with, it’s usually best to email or call them as a first step.
At this point, if the faculty member and you hit it off to the extent that you decide to meet in person: