Office of Undergraduate Research

Purdue Research Mentor Information

The Office of Undergraduate Research seeks Purdue researchers interested in mentoring new Purdue students on projects during the Fall 2023 semester as part of the First Year Investigators Program. Student participants will be compensated for 6-10 hours of weekly research work during the semester while attending a research support seminar. The Purdue research mentor is a component of the first-time researcher's mentorship team along with a student peer research mentor. 

Benefits of Mentoring Purdue First-Year Undergraduate Research Program Students

  • Serve as a welcoming presence on campus as a disciplinary expert and mentor
  • Involve students early in their collegiate career with authentic and compensated research work
  • Provide mentorship that may have been valuable or much needed in your own research success
  • Connect with new Boilermakers early in their collegiate career to help target future teaching and/or mentoring roles

Submit Your Project to be a First-Year Research Mentor

If you are interested in hosting a first-time researcher in their second year at Purdue during Fall 2023, please "Submit a New Project" on OURConnect under the "First-Year Research Program" heading. Please contact ourconnect@purdue.edu if you have any issues or questions about this process.

Priority deadline to submit projects: March 20

Students will apply to projects: March 22-March 31

Additional Program Information

The Purdue First-Year Undergraduate Research Program provides new Boilermakers an academic-year experience to prepare and conduct research with expert Purdue researchers who may not have considered research while attending Purdue. These students will take a research preparation course during the spring semester and then would work alongside you during the fall semester while taking a research skills course.

 

Information provided to the first-year students | Information provided to the peer mentors

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Any Purdue faculty or professional staff member with a research project or creative endeavor can submit a project to be considered for the First Year Investigators Program. Mentors should be interested in working with first-time researchers who are entering their sophomore year at Purdue.
Students will begin applying to research projects around Spring Break in Spring 2023. They will use the information from their course to apply to projects. Application review will begin in April 2023 for the Fall 2023 semester.

You will submit your application through OURConnect. You should submit your project under the "First-Year Research Program Spring 2023-Fall 2023" header. The program will state that it is for the full calendar year, but the project should only be for Fall 2023.

Your project will be reviewed by the Purdue OUR. Only students who are selected to be part of the First Year Investigators Program will be able to apply for the project through this header on OURConnect.

We are seeking projects that will provide 6 or 10 hours a week during the Fall 2023 semester for the first-time researcher to complete. We anticipate regular mentoring meetings with the student researcher similar to what you would provide to new undergraduate researchers. Finally, the student researcher will present their work at the Fall Expo in November and will need your support in creating the abstract and presentation.

Yes, the first-time student researchers are paid $15/hour for their time working with you on a project in Fall 2023.

Submit a Fall 2023 Project