Staff Excellence: Office of Undergraduate Research

More than ever before, undergraduate research is a priority for Purdue. Thanks to some additional enabling investments to come this year, it’s never too early to make an impact at Purdue, even in contributing to the university’s rich legacy of research and scientific discoveries. The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) offers comprehensive support to undergraduate students, wasting no time in placing them on a path that connects their academic and professional interests with faculty researchers.

In the last academic year, at least 4,316 students were part of an undergraduate research experience at Purdue — a number that has grown nearly sixfold since OUR was established in 2017.

“The Office of Undergraduate Research serves as the central campus resource to promote and expand undergraduate research at Purdue by working with everyone connected with undergraduate research: students, research mentors and administrators,” says Amy Childress, OUR founding director.

Childress manages a team of three full-time staff members, comprised of two associate directors and a lead administrative assistant.

The office not only provides undergraduate researchers with faculty connections; OUR also offers online courses, scholarships and an undergraduate research portal.

“The online course curriculum was developed while working with Purdue stakeholders to identify important areas to address in the courses. The courses follow students through their undergraduate research journey — from searching and applying for opportunities, to providing wrap-around support while students are conducting their research projects, to discussing how to search and apply to graduate or professional school program, to finally learning how to mentor other students,” says JJ Sadler, OUR’s associate director of student-focused programming.

“Faculty and administrators have shared that the courses are pragmatic and support students in breaking down important milestones for current and future application. Students have shared that the feedback on assignments and shared challenges are strengths of the courses that they can apply right away,” Sadler says.

Additionally, OUR-led conferences are held three times a year to give student researchers an opportunity to present their work to the Purdue community.

To improve visibility and reach, OUR recently launched an undergraduate research program matrix on its website. Researchers, program administrators and departments are invited to submit programs to reflect the available opportunities in West Lafayette and Indianapolis, informing students and researchers about what is available and where.

Another program, CURE—Purdue, uses course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) to enable single instructors to include a large number of students in research projects and research skill development. Since 2019 more than 70 different courses have been taught as a CURE at least once, with 5,255 enrollments.

“Developing and expanding partnerships with key campus units is critical to this continued success,” Childress says.