Guide to Starting Research

It's a chance to apply what you learned in your courses to complex real-world problems, to explore the limits of knowledge of your discipline, to better understand where new knowledge and innovations in your field come from, and to make you a more informed consumer of new information, data, and research claims.

It's an opportunity to develop a (potentially lifelong) mentoring relationship with your mentor as you work together more closely than possible in a course. Research mentors that know you well are more effective advocates and references than course instructors.

Success as a scholar requires many skills: critical thinking & problem solving, creativity & independence, collaboration, communication, persistence, reflection, planning, and time & project management. Even if you don't pursue a career in scholarship, practicing and improving these skills will benefit your life after Union.

Doing research at Union is an opportunity to try out being a scientist or scholar, before making a bigger commitment like going to graduate school.

Most schooling is directed at learning existing knowledge, research is an opportunity for you to create new knowledge and contribute to society.

• Many disciplines have courses designed specifically for introducing students to research, these courses are designated WAC-R, and are often taken during the sophomore or junior year.
• Union Scholars and Seward Fellows also have a required sophomore research project (SCH-295/6/7).
• Many programs also have required 1- or 2-term senior seminars, thesis, or capstone projects and they are typically labeled with course numbers at least 490.

• Many departments also offer research practica, which expect students to spend about 3-5 hours per week working on a research project with a faculty mentor. Taking three practica in one department awards one course credit towards graduation, but typically doesn't count for major credit.
• Advanced students can also arrange to take research independent studies with a faculty member. These award one course credit and offer a more in-depth experience than a practicum.

• The UGR Office runs the Summer Research Fellowship Program that pays for students to work full time for 4, 6, or 8 weeks over the summer with a faculty member on their research. Applications including project proposals are due at the beginning of February for the following summer.
• During term, you may be able to complete federal work study as a research assistant in a faculty research group / lab. See Workday for work study job postings.
• Some faculty are able to pay research assistants on grants for work in their labs at any point in the year.
• External Programs
  • NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs) are opportunities to work with faculty at other universities over the summer for pay. Applications are often due between January and March for the coming summer. Note: Many, but not all, NSF REUs are restricted to US citizens, nationals, or permanent residents.
  • Similar to REUs, Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURFs) are programs hosted by a variety of educational and research institutions, but they are not centrally organized like REUs, e.g., at the NIH, the Mayo Clinic, and Amgen Scholars. There are also international programs like DAAD RISE Germany. Try doing a web search for SURFs in your area of interest.
  • External REUs and summer research fellowships are quite competitive. You are encouraged to reach out to the Office of Fellowships and Doctoral Pathways for guidance on applying to external programs.
  • Some students have found success reaching out to faculty and researchers at institutions near their homes to inquire about (typically, volunteer) research opportunities.

Most students do research related to their major or minor. However, it is not unheard of for a student to take a class outside those areas and end up developing a scholarly project with that professor after the course is over. Course materials are often a good jumping off point for research in an area. In some courses professors discuss open research questions or their own scholarship. Look at notes or reference sections of books or articles you read for class for threads to follow. You can also follow research threads on the Internet through Wikipedia or, even, Youtube videos. The goal is to see what is generally out there.

• There are a number of campus-wide events showcasing research, scholarship, and artistry done by students at Union, including the Steinmetz Symposium at the beginning of May. Go to these events to see both the projects being done, but also who is leading the groups doing them. Union regularly publishes articles on student work: Steinmetz Day, and Summer Research in 2025.
• Many department seminars, colloquia, or talks feature internal and external speakers discussing state-of-the-art scholarship and research. Go to these events to see what is happening; even if you are 100% interested in the topic, you'll still learn something about the work in the discipline.
• Many departments have events where seniors present their projects, and some departments have events showcasing faculty research and potential summer research projects.
• You can independently investigate research areas or groups by looking at faculty websites and publications, these often include a statement of their interest, projects they've worked on with students in the past, and potentially even projects they're looking for students to complete in the future.

The details of how collaborative student-faculty research and scholarship works varies a lot by department and program at Union.

• Your first point of contact is your academic advisor, who can tell you what research typically looks like in your program. They can make suggestions for how to get involved or who else you should talk with.
• Your department chair or program director can also help you with this, but your advisor likely knows you better.
• You can talk about potential research opportunities with the faculty instructors teaching your courses.
• You can talk with your peers (or alums) about research opportunities they have pursued at Union.

Asking a professor to do research with them can be daunting. In most cases, establishing a mentor-mentee relationship requires mutual agreement from both parties and you need to convince your potential mentor to choose to work with you.

You should know what kind of research that they work on—faculty tend to have several specific areas they work on within their wider discipline. Look at their website, research interests, and titles of publications. Do enough research into those specific areas for you to have a sense of what the areas are about and to know what you're interested in working on. It's not necessary at this stage, but you can even read articles or books in the area or that the faculty member has contributed to. It's OK if you are not able to fully, or even largely, understand these texts at this point. Review your own qualifications, think about the courses you've taken, the skills you've developed, and projects you've done that will contribute to the project you may work on. You can even write or update your resume to make this concrete.

When reaching out to a professor to talk about their research and research opportunities, it's better to try to schedule a dedicated meeting, than to try to have an impromptu conversation in office hours or right after class. If you don't already know the professor well, make sure to briefly (re)introduce yourself when scheduling the meeting; touch on what you know about their interests, share your own interests, and mention your relevant qualifications. Scheduling a meeting will also give the professor time to consider possible opportunities in advance, and, perhaps, craft something aligned with your interests.

Curiosity, creativity, independence, critical thinking & problem solving skills, professionalism, and determination are all important qualities of a successful scholar. Highlight your qualifications and use your conversations with your potential mentor to demonstrate your strengths. Ask about their interests and projects. Ask questions about what the professor says—be curious!

Before offering you a position, your potential mentor may test your skills and interest with various tasks, e.g., asking questions that probe your knowledge of the subject, asking you to read a specific paper and share your thoughts, ask you to examine the literature to determine what's known on a specific research question, or let you shadow or train with an existing member in their group. While these are common research tasks, they will still likely push you outside of your comfort zone. Faculty realize that your collaboration will be an apprenticeship, you will be training / learning something about the craft of research and scholarship in addition to contributing to projects they are interested in. It's assumed that you will not have mastered this craft before you've started so it's important to approach the situation with a growth mindset.

If the discussion with your mentor goes well, make sure to cover the kinds of work arrangements they would consider, e.g., practica, work study, or summer fellowship. You should also talk about professional expectations around scheduling of the work, working hours, work locations, required meetings, and modes and timeliness of communication.

• Some faculty may place additional conditions on working with students, like having taken a certain course, having a certain skills, or being enrolled in a thesis or practicum. If you don't satisfy those conditions right now, you can try again in the future.
• Faculty usually have a limit on the number of students they can mentor (or fund) at the same time. If they already have too many students they may need to turn you away even if you are qualified. In some departments, thesis advisor assignment is done by the department as a whole or the chair, not the individual professor.
• There are a lot of other factors impacting whether faculty can mentor research students, including sabbatical leave, conflicting summer plans, having a particularly heavy course or service load, or their contract with the College. If a professor says "not right now" or "no", don't take it personally, rejection is part of the process. You may need to talk with other professors or adjust the area you want to work in slightly. Long term, the experience itself is more valuable than the specific area you end up working in.
• Professors have a variety of mentoring strategies and personalities. It is important that you find someone that you can work and communicate with. You may need to talk with multiple professors before you find the right mentor for you. It is not uncommon for students to try out in multiple research groups at Union before finding the right match.

Your mentor is your primary point of support for success in your project. They are experts in their field. It is important to communicate with your mentor—if you have a problem, concern, or question, talk to your mentor. They cannot always solve the problem for you, but they can point you in the right direction. They may refer you to other people or groups in this section, follow up with those people.

Your mentor is an excellent resource to learn about what scholarship in your area looks like beyond Union and can help you formulate research-focused career plans. Your mentors can also serve as your primary recommender and advocate if you apply to graduate school; they may even be able to put you in touch with colleagues to serve as PhD advisors through their own professional network. Developing a professional relationship with your mentor is important.

Some departments have dedicated workspace, equipment, or computers that student researchers can use. All departments have administrative staff that aid student researchers in a variety of ways.

• Laboratory sciences commonly have lab technicians that assist with research projects, equipment usage, and safety.
• All academic departments have administrative assistants that can aid in purchasing research materials or arranging research travel.
• All departments have faculty chairs who oversee the department. They are a resource for large issues that arise, e.g., you are having an issue with your mentor or looking for additional funding beyond what the UGR Office and your mentor are able to provide.

Departments also administer senior projects, as well as regularly run research seminars, talk, or colloquia.

The Undergraduate Research Office supports research, scholarship, and artistry across the College.

• We provide funding for materials and supplies for projects through Student Research Grants (SRGs) and for presenting work through Student Conference Travel Grants (SCTGs). Each program funds a maximum of $500 per student per academic year.
• The UGR Office also runs the Summer Research Fellowship Program, allowing more than 120 students per year to work full-time and paid over the summer with their faculty mentor.
• The UGR Office organizes opportunities to present research throughout the year, including Steinmetz Day, the NY6 Symposium, and several poster sessions.

• Schaffer Library has a number of resources, including research librarians that can help you locate sources, get the text for hard-to-find articles or books, and even help you frame research questions. The library even houses a video production studio.
• The Writing Center through individual peer-feedback can help you effectively communicate your work in writing from writing your proposals for a summer research fellowship or a student research grant, to your final thesis.
• The MakerWeb has a network of equipment and services to support creating things for your project, including 3D printing, laser cutting, and virtual reality.

Doing research with the potential to harm the researcher, participants, or others requires additional care, training, and, in some cases, approval prior to initiation of the study.

• The Human Subjects Review Committee (HSRC) reviews all projects that involve human participants. HSRC approval or statement of exemption is required before beginning research involving human subjects.
• Similarly, the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) must approve research involving animals.
• The Environmental Health & Safety Office provides safety training for students.

Undergraduate research experiences are a stepping stone into research-focused careers.

• The Office of Fellowships and Doctoral Pathways supports students and alums in preparing and applying to fellowships to fund your time at Union or beyond, and help you navigate the process of successfully applying to PhD programs.
• The Career Center in Becker Hall i is a general resource for career guidance, including help with resumes, interviews, networking, and applying for jobs.