How Do I Find a Research Mentor?

There are several different ways to find a research mentor. First, find someone whose research is of interest to you.

1. School and department websites: Explore the websites of departments and schools that fit with your interests. They will list the faculty working in those departments. Click on various faculty members to see the type of research they are conducting to find some that interests you. Don’t limit yourself to just you major department, particularly if you have multidisciplinary interests.
2. Professors from classes: Think about current or past classes that you have particularly enjoyed; consider asking the course professor to be your mentor. We encourage students to have a topic in mind and attend office hours or speak to the professor after class.
3. Graduate students or postdocs: Talk with graduate students or postdocs in your department; TAs for your classes are a great place to start. You can also consider reaching out to graduate students (or postdocs) in the research group that you would like to join. Grad students and postdocs have a good sense of the type of research being done in the department and can offer ideas about faculty members who are particularly good at working with undergraduates. They may also be interested in taking on an undergraduate to train. 
4. Previous URH Conference programs: Look at mentors who have previously supported undergraduates doing research in your field. Faculty mentors are listed along with the presenter in previous URH conference programs. You can search based on a keyword or by major. 
   • Previous URC programs
   • Previous SRC programs
5. UC San Diego Faculty Profiles (lists UC San Diego Health faculty ONLY): This site allows you to search utilizing keywords to find faculty working in particular areas within health sciences.
6. REAL Portal: The Research Experience & Applied Learning (REAL) Portal helps students discover internships and other hands-on experiential learning opportunities posted by faculty and external companies/agencies.
7. Network: Students can find potential mentors by attending events around campus, especially talks put on by their home departments. Go to department websites and look for seminars, colloquium series, “brown bags” or other events. Consider departments other than your own major as well.

Recorded "How to Find a Mentor" Information Session

Website

It is recommended to review the faculty's website (if they have one). It can be a great way to:

• Learn more about the research being conducted
  • You may identify a specific topic(s) that is being pursued in that research group that you would like to join
  • You may be able to browse some recent publications to get a sense of the latest published work
    • If offered an interview, it is recommended to browse some of the recent publications
• Browse the list of researchers in the group 
  • If you see undergraduates listed there, it is a positive sign!
  • Maybe you know someone in the research group already
  • You can get an idea of the size of the research group 
• Explore the "contact us" section in case there are specific instructions on how to apply for a research position in that group. 
  • Sometimes faculty have a form for you to fill out
  • Sometimes you are asked to contact someone besides the faculty mentor about research positions
  • You may find where on campus their research group is, in case you want to try to visit in-person

Once you find a potential research mentor, there are several ways to reach out to that person.

Email

Emailing is often the best way to reach out to a potential research mentor. The email should be fairly brief and should be professional in tone. Begin with “Dear Dr. xxx” or “Dear Professor xxx” (do not use the person’s first name and do not use Mr. Mrs., Ms., etc.). Include the following information in the email:

• Who you are (name, year, major, any specific skills or past research experience)
• Why you are emailing them (undergrad research position)
  • are you offering to volunteer? did you see an opportunity listing a research position in their group for pay? do you want to do research for credit?
  • if you were accepted into a research program or needing a research mentor to apply for a program, this would be helpful to mention
• What about their work specifically interests you (you want them to know that you have taken the time to look into what they do)
• A concrete request (“Could you please let me know if you would be available to meet sometime in the next week or so to discuss the possibility of doing research with you?”)
  • It is recommended to gives a few available time slots in the upcoming week or two to help make it easier for the mentor to say yes (and reduce one round of emails asking about availability).
• Sign off professionally (e.g., “Sincerely, xxx”)

Additional items that can be helpful to include:

• Resume/CV
• Unofficial Transcript/Academic History

Follow-up messages:

• It is recommended to follow-up after 1 week if you have not heard from the professor/person you wrote to
• We recommend following up no more than 2 additional times to the same person about a research position. If they have not responded by then, they are unlikely to do so. 
• You can consider other methods of contacting a research group (see below about visiting in-person or giving a phone call).

Office Hours

Office hours can also be a good way to contact a potential mentor. If you do go to office hours and there are several students there from the course the professor is teaching, those students should have priority in asking questions.

Other Methods

Be creative! Sometimes being willing to give a phone call to the faculty or showing up at the faculty's office/research space may help you stand out from the rest. If you know the faculty, but want to get to know them better, consider inviting them to Coffee / Dine with a Prof!