Working With Your Mentor
Your Faculty Mentor
The single most important factor for a successful UROP is establishing and maintaining a good relationship with your Faculty Mentor. You have likely had previous mentors in your life and will likely have more in the future. Your experience in being mentored is an invaluable part of your research and creative activity. You will gain the most from this experience if you think a bit about what you are doing.
Choosing a Mentor
The first step in choosing a Mentor is a honest self-appraisal. What are your strengths? What skills do you need to develop? How much knowledge do you have in the area of your possible research project?Do you work best with day-to-day supervision or do you prefer to work independently with only general direction? Do your interests require special expertise or equipment that only certain faculty members could provide? Follow the links here to learn how to find possible Mentors. To narrow your choices, you need to arrange to meet with each possible Faculty Mentor.
Initial Meeting
Meetings are exchanges of ideas and information. You should prepare for your initial meeting with the following:
- You should tell your possible Mentor why your knowledge and previous experiences prepares you for success in research or creative activity in her/his area. Past project work, courses you have taken, grades in classes, honors and awards, language or other special skills are all useful information. A one-page resume is not required, but could be helpful.
- Share your ideas about possible projects to whatever extent they exist. If you don't have a clue about your possible project, at least learn enough about the Mentor's research area to say that you are interested in those topics.