Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
General
What is the UR2PhD program?
The Undergraduate Research to PhD (“UR2PhD”), pronounced ‘you are to PhD’, program focuses on expanding training opportunities that make it easier for students to get involved in research. The program aims to ensure that participants have access to high-quality undergraduate research opportunities, positive mentorship experiences, and information about applying to graduate school.
In order to meet its objectives, the UR2PhD program offers four primary activities:
- A research training course to increase undergraduate students’ confidence and skills
- A mentor training course to support graduate students’ in becoming more effective mentors
- A computing research engagement and awareness workshop series to increase students’ understanding of research
- A graduate school application workshop series to build students’ interest in and knowledge of PhD applications
What program activities does UR2PhD offer?
Our program offers 4 primary activities, including 2 courses and 2 workshops.
How many students have participated in the UR2PhD program so far?
CRA launched the UR2PhD program in the fall of 2023 and has had over 500 participants across the courses and workshops.
How can I get involved in the UR2PhD program? I am not sure if I am eligible for the activities that the UR2PhD program hosts. How can I learn more?
As a faculty mentor, there are a couple of ways you can get involved.
If you’d like to support undergraduates at your institution, you could:
- Serve as a faculty mentor
- Apply to become a local coordinator for your institution (Learn more about institutional partnerships)
If you’d like to support the broader UR2PhD community, you may want to consider applying to be an instructor or workshop facilitator.
My question wasn’t answered in this section. Who can I reach out to for assistance?
A member of our team would be happy to assist you. Please send us an email at ur2phd@cra.org.
Faculty Mentor Role
If my undergraduate students participate in the Research Training Course, what are they committing to?
Undergraduate participants are committing to the following:
- Participating in the UR2PhD program actively and fully for the summer session,
- Attending all class sessions and scheduled research meetings on time,
- Attending the same class sessions as their fellow research group partners,
- Giving their full attention to class sessions and actively participating with their cameras on without multitasking,
- Behaving professionally,
- Completing all assigned work for the course and my research project in a timely fashion, and “pulling their weight” with all assigned group projects,
- Keeping open lines of communication with their research group, mentors, and the UR2PhD program team
If I am mentoring students in the Research Training Course, what am I committing to?
Faculty mentors will be expected to:
- Provide their mentees with support on their research project
- Occasionally assign or review their work for the course (e.g. in week 3, the students should be given a paper to read related to the research project they are working on)
- Ensure mentees are compensated in some form for their participation in research and/or the course (e.g. independent study credit, pay, etc)
What does participation in UR2PhD look like in practice?
In general, students will receive instruction from the UR2PhD team, freeing mentors to provide more technical mentorship.
We anticipate that during the first semester engagement, students will be actively learning and practicing research skills and may not be contributing as much to research projects.
After the first semester engagement, students will feel more prepared and confident contributing to research.
What can I expect from the UR2PhD team?
The UR2PhD course intends to make it easier for research mentors to onboard new undergraduate researchers. Our team will be providing all of the instruction and most of the assignments for the course. Our team will also handle assignment grading.
During the term, we will be providing weekly updates about what the students are learning, what may be needed from you, and (if necessary) information about your mentee’s participation status.
After the term has concluded, we will be sharing a full gradebook breakdown of your mentees performance, a suggestion for a grade, and a request for feedback.
Why should I participate?
Our team strongly believes that participation in our program benefits everyone involved. Below, we list a few benefits of participating.
At the institutional level, participation can:
- Increase the number of undergraduates participating in research without increasing the department’s training workload
- Elevate the quality of research mentoring provided by graduate student mentors, contributing to a more robust and effective research ecosystem
For faculty mentors, our program activities help:
- Reduce the time commitment necessary for introducing undergraduate students to research fundamentals
- Enhance the competence of your research team by ensuring that undergraduate researchers receive training in general research methods
- Equip your graduate students with the skills needed to excel as effective research mentors of undergraduate and junior graduate students, freeing up your time for more focused research mentoring.
- Expand the reach and skills of your research lab
- Access additional funding opportunities
Graduate students can:
- Acquire formal training in the art of effective research mentoring, a pivotal skill for long-term career success
- Learn to design and adapt research projects based on research goals, advisee skills and experiences, and project challenges
- Hone essential communication skills and techniques for assessing and promoting student development and growth
- Develop and formalize a personalized mentorship philosophy
- Establish a supportive peer network with students across various universities
Undergraduates are able to:
- Learn, practice, and apply fundamental skills necessary to thrive in any technical workplace while earning course credit or pay from your university
- Cultivate connections with undergraduate researchers within and beyond your university, fostering an extensive peer network
- Develop relationships with research mentors and advisors, who can serve as future references
- Expand understanding of computing research, sub-disciplines, and topics through engagement with leaders from academia, industry and government labs from across North America
- Grow knowledge about research opportunities and careers, with an opportunity to learn more about graduate school application expectations and requirements
- Become eligible for exclusive travel and REU funding opportunities
UR2PhD: Undergraduate Research Methods Course by Computing Research Association’s UR2PhD Program. This work, “UR2PhD Undergraduate Research Methods Course”, is adapted from “Early Research Scholars Program” by Christine Alvarado, UC San Diego, used under CC BY 4.0. “UR2PhD Undergraduate Research Scholars” is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by the Computing Research Association’s UR2PhD Program and is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
UR2PhD: Graduate Student Mentor Training Course by Computing Research Association’s UR2PhD Program is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
