I-Engage Application

 

Cultivating mentored research experiences.

The I-Engage Mentoring Program brings together graduate students and postdocs with undergraduate students for a summer-long research experience. The program offers graduate students and postdocs an opportunity to practice mentorship skills and exposes undergraduates to cutting-edge research in their field. The program is open to students in every discipline at UTA. Undergraduates will be expected to work closely with a graduate student or postdoc mentor on either the mentor’s research/creative project or on their own research/creative project. The undergraduate is expected to gain research experience, learn more about an academic discipline, network with other students and faculty and refine skills critical for academic and professional growth while the graduate student/postdoc mentor exercises and develops mentoring skills and benefits from progress made on the research/creative project. Part of the undergraduate’s experience must be “hands-on” in nature, but the mentor will be expected to help the undergraduate develop his or her academic understanding related to the selected project. The support of a faculty sponsor, who will  provide general oversight of  the research project and supply guidance to the graduate student/postdoc mentor and undergraduate mentee, as needed, is required.

Eligibility Requirements

Postdocs: Currently holds a postdoc position at UTA and anticipates holding a postdoc position during Summer 2026.

Graduate students: The program is open to doctoral and doctoral-bound students in good academic standing who have completed 30 hours of graduate study.

Undergraduate students: The program is open to all junior- or senior-level undergraduate students in good academic standing. Priority consideration will be given to students who are not participating in another undergraduate research program, but students participating in other research programs are encouraged to apply.

The graduate student/postdoc's faculty supervisor/mentor must agree to provide guidance and support to the graduate student/postdoc mentor and the undergraduate mentee as needed during the course of their project.  

Compensation

Graduate students/postdocs will receive a $2,000 stipend.

Undergraduate students will receive a $1,000 stipend.

Accepted participants who do not complete the program and/or do not fulfill the expectations as set by their application will be required to return the award funds to UT Arlington. This determination will be made at the discretion of the Graduate School.

Please note: The I-Engage stipend is distributed via scholarship disbursement to accepted students. Scholarship awards exceeding a student's tuition amount may be treated as taxable income.

How to Apply 

The graduate student/postdoc mentor-undergraduate trainee pair must self-identify at the time of application to the program and submit a complete application with appropriate faculty approval in order to be considered. To indicate their approval, the faculty sponsor must e-mail graduate.studies@uta.edu no later than 11:59 p.m. CST on Wednesday, April 22, 2026 stating they approve of the proposal and will assist and advise the mentor/mentee as needed. The text of the faculty sponsor’s e-mail should simply read, “I approve of the proposal by [mentor name] and [mentee name] and will assist them as needed.”

The completed application for the I-Engage Mentoring Program includes the online application and a syllabus for your proposed research project. The Syllabus should be attached to the online application form as a MS Word or PDF document and is based on the UTA-required syllabus. Please see this sample PDF document for more information: I Engage Syllabus Application (2026). If you would like to receive the sample syllabus as an MS Word document, please e-mail graduate.studies@uta.edu.

Successful applications will include clearly stated learning objectives and describe in detail the activities to be completed by the undergraduate student to achieve the objectives. Applications with detailed attendance policies and excellent project descriptions, student learning outcomes, and activities are most likely to be selected. Undergraduate mentees and graduate student/postdoc mentors should each devote a minimum of 10 hours per week to the research project.

Full application instructions are available here: I Engage Instruction Sheet (2026)

Application Deadline

Completed applications and faculty support e-mails are due no later than 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22, 2026.

Click here to submit your Summer 2026 I-Engage application.