Get Started with Undergraduate Research

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The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) is providing remote advising via Teams.

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COVID-19 Research Toolkit

When can I start?

You may begin your undergraduate researcher experience as early as your second semester of your first year at UTA. The optimal time is sophomore year and beyond, but this can vary with individual.

When you start depends on:
  • Your readiness
  • Model of research you are interested in
  • Assisting a professor in their research (faculty research team) vs. conducting supervised independent research (student lead)
  • Conventions of the field
  • Degree plan and class schedule
  • Faculty expectations

How to Get Started:

Define your interests

Determining your interests is an initial step in finding a research area that interests you. Once you get involved with research, you will spend a lot of time and effort on research, so you need to find a project that excites you.

Request an Advising Appointment

Identify Possible Research Mentors

Once you have identified your interests, find out more about faculty that share similar interests. Locating a research mentor takes some work and and there are various methods you can use to identify potential faculty to serve as mentors.

Search Faculty Profiles

Schedule a Meeting

Be prepared. Think of this as an interview. Bring a copy of your transcript or a list of relevant courses completed and your resumé to the appointment. Practice your “elevator pitch,” which includes why you are interested in their research and your research potential. Have questions prepared.

Email Etiquette Lockheed Martin Career Development Center

Meet Potential Research Mentors

Let the potential faculty research mentor know you are interested in their research and would like to find out more about the possibility of working with them. Treat this meeting as an interview. Although research are our faculty member's passion, it is also their job.

Research Process

Select a Faculty Research Mentor and Start!

Once you have found a faculty research member who is willing to serve as your undergraduate research mentor, you may approach research informally (volunteer) or formally (e.g. internship or part of an official program).

Guidance for Undergraduate Research Experiences during C-19

Commit

Now that you’re on a research team and/or engaged in independent research, you are an undergraduate researcher! OUR can further your experience through our professional development, workshops, and connecting you with experts in your field.

Student Opportunity Center Maverick Advantage

4 Elements of Undergraduate Research:

Collaboration

A relationship between the student and the faculty/research mentor that takes place outside of the classroom environment and course requirements.

New

Bringing forth something partially or totally novel consistent with best practices in area(s) of study.

Share

Measurable deliverables with the expectation that the results or product will be disseminated to the public.

Time

Undergraduate research experiences typically take place within the span of one long semester or more.



Contact Us

Email: UGResearch@uta.edu
Office Location: Nedderman Hall 246

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Let us share the benefits of and opportunities within Undergraduate Research in your classroom, organization, event or social

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