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| Getting Research Guidance | The key to undergraduate research is finding a professor or faculty member who will assist you. To find the best mentor, you should follow three steps: identify your potential mentors, learn about their background and interests, and contact your best prospects.
To identify probable mentors, investigate who is available on your campus. Start by looking for information and advice from teachers whose courses you attended. You may also attend lectures connected with the areas of your interest. Checking departmental Web sites for faculty research interests and publications may be helpful as well. Discover which faculty members have supervised undergraduate research in the past. Teaching assistants can be enormous sources of information.
Your next step is to contact probable mentors. The best way to do this is to come exactly to the professor.
One you have found a project, it is time to think about its funding. You should talk to the department head about receiving credit for your work. There may be an official program that covers undergraduate research. You may also set up an independent study or even use it as work-study or as part of a grant that either you or a professor has won.
You should keep in mind that your final grade is based on how you work through the data on the research, and how you understand your research.
Undergraduate research can improve your undergraduate experience by allowing you to take the skills you have learned and apply them to real situations. No matter where your academic interests lie, undergraduate research is well worth considering.
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