First Year Undergraduate STEM-H Mentored Research Experience
Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity
The Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity has funding to support an introductory research experience for first-year undergraduate students in STEM-H disciplines. Students will build relationships with faculty mentors and engage in research projects that will bridge the students’ first to second years at UofL, with the intent on sparking students’ interest in the discipline, help them to build a sense of belonging, build confidence, and importantly, increase the odds that those students will be retained in the fall to continue their academic studies as well as the research experience with their faculty mentor. This program is open to all first-year students, regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, disability or age. However, we are particularly interested in funding students who are not already connected with a UofL scholarship/merit program, those who historically have not had access to research experiences (eg, first-generation students) and those who are underrepresented in STEM-H disciplines.
Students will be recruited to work with faculty mentors beginning in the Spring semester, 2024. Students will be expected to spend at least 5 hours per week in the mentor’s lab, but no more than 9 hours per week. As an incentive for participating in the program, students will receive a $500 tuition scholarship. Faculty will also receive a $500 research allowance as an incentive to support the student’s research. We encourage the faculty who are also mentoring graduate students to pair a graduate student with the undergraduate student to serve as a “near-peer” co-mentor, who will also receive a $500 research allowance.
If the faculty member and undergraduate student continue the mentoring relationship into Fall 2024 semester, each will receive another installment of the incentive funds as mentioned above (as will the graduate student co-mentor).
Faculty who are interested in participating in the program and serving as a mentor to a first-year undergraduate student should send an email to Paul DeMarco, Director, Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity, with a brief description faculty member’s research area. We will post these opportunities on a recruitment page hosted by the Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity so students can review and apply to the positions. Faculty will have an opportunity to review students’ applications and select students to participate. If a faculty member already has a student in mind, contact Paul DeMarco to inquire about how to nominate the student for this program.