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The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) cannot function without the support and collaboration of faculty members across the university in training and preparing undergraduate students for graduate studies and careers in their respective fields of study. 

We will continue to seek additional funding to support faculty in their research endeavors and creative scholarship.

Research Faculty Mentor Pool 

We currently offer PODER – a faculty-mentored undergraduate employment program. Faculty can join OUR Research Faculty Mentor Pool and mentor students during the academic year in research and creative scholarship. 

• Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, & Communication
• Michael D. Eisner College of Education 
• Engineering & Computer Science 
• Health & Human Development
• Humanities
• Science & Math
• Social & Behavioral Sciences

Are you a faculty member? Want to join our mentor pool? 

Mentor Training

To join our Research Faculty Mentor Pool, all faculty members must complete a free training offered through the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN): 

Mentoring Undergraduate Students

Description: The Mentoring Undergraduate Students course, developed at the University of Minnesota, is a self-directed program designed to help faculty members, postdoctoral fellows, or graduate students optimize their mentoring relationships with undergraduate mentees. The course predominantly addresses research mentoring that occurs within biomedical, behavioral, and social science fields. However, many of the principles and approaches covered in this course are applicable to other disciplines and other types of mentoring relationships. 

Objectives: This course learning materials, activities, and assignments are designed to help you meet the following learning objectives: 

1. Appreciate and communicate to mentees the importance of mentoring in their development as researchers
2. Articulate the pros and cons of different mentoring models
3. More effectively fulfill the many roles and responsibilities a research mentor may be expected to perform
4. Engage in research mentoring in a more structured and intentional way, with attention to navigating the specific phases of the relationship
5. Proactively apply specific strategies to build and maintain effective research mentoring relationships
6. Identify and address challenges that might arise in a research mentoring relationship
7. Routinely reflect on and adapt your research mentoring practices

Structure: The course is divided into a series of self-paced modules. The average completion time is 2-3 hours.

OUR Faculty Mentor Award

Coming in 2025-2026!

Beginning in Spring 2026, the Office of Undergraduate Research will establish an annual OUR Faculty Mentor Award. Faculty mentors are the keystone of research and creative scholarship at ¼ªÏé·»! It is important to acknowledge the contributions of faculty across our university. Undergraduate students will be able to nominate their mentors to be honored, be spotlighted in the OUR newsletter, social media, and website, and receive a $500 Award. 

• Faculty Mentor Pool