The Professor’s Guide to Undergraduate Research

Richard Feynman

Recently, I posted advice for students on how to get involved in undergraduate research. Yet undergrad research is a two-way street. It takes engaged professors in order for this relationship to be profitable for both the teacher and the student. To get the most out of your undergrads, I’ve drafted 10 tips on handling students, based on my 4 years of undergraduate research. Hopefully, this can give you some useful feedback.

• Be there. The single most important thing you can do, as a teacher and mentor, is to show interest in your students. Try to have a conversation, however brief, at least once a week with your student. Too often, students feel like professors are aloof. If you demonstrate your availability, students will be far more motivated to work, and they will communicate with you far more effectively. I know that your jobs are hectic, but even small amounts of interaction can pay exponential dividends.
• Don’t leave the student out to dry. Many undergrads have never been in a lab before. I think that pairing them up with a grad student is the most effective way for them to learn. You can’t expect to throw them a task and have them complete it with no guidance. Make sure they know that a grad student or lab tech are there to help them on the way. If your grad students can delegate some work to them, this will also cut down on the times where the undergrads feel useless.
• Make sure they understand the basics. If you want to train successful scientists, make sure they have thorough training in the fundamentals. It is essential that students learn good sterile technique and understand how to do basic lab tasks. This will lead to far more productive students later in their work.
• Give the students something to own. Designate a project or an experiment for the student. If they feel like they are collecting data of their own, the work is far more rewarding. It’s nice to have something to put your name on, especially since the research world seems so nebulous at that point in their career. This will give them experience and confidence in planning their own experiments.
• Teach them about more than just science. The job of a scientist involves so much more than running experiments. Students are woefully under-prepared for many of the important non-scientific tasks researchers do. Be willing to talk to students about topics like the grant process, science funding, public speaking, and science communication. Let the student give a presentation at a lab meeting so they can practice some skills beyond the bench.
• Mention your research in class. If you’re having a hard time attracting undergrads to your lab, give a shameless self-endorsement of your lab during a lecture. So many students want to get involved in research, but many may not know how to get involved, or even that their professors do some really cool stuff.
• Respond to their emails. When an undergrad emails you, they probably spent 20 minutes worrying about how to word it politely and effectively. I know that you only take about 2 seconds to draft a response. That’s fine, but the least you can do is respond to their emails quickly. It’s harrowing for a student to wait 5 days for a response. This can make them afraid to approach you.

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• Set Goals. Not only is success more likely when you articulate and write down goals, but this also helps students feel like they are making real progress. While progress in most labs is measured by things like publications, thesis progress, and presentations, and undergrad may not be able to do these. Set goals like “master PCR” and “collect 100 samples” to help students realize the skills they have acquired.
• Explain things every now and then, particularly during the first few lab meetings a student attends. Taking a few seconds to help explain what your lab is working on helps them become more engaged, and makes the experience feel less overwhelming. Nobody, no matter how thoroughly they’ve read your papers, knows exactly what intricacies you’re trying to work through now.
• Help them find their career path. Students don’t get to talk one-on-one with a lot of experts. They’re trying to figure out which field they want to enter, and you can help them decide whether research is right for them. Be a resource that can connect them to others who might share their interests.

The life of a professor is busy, and taking care of the undergraduates in your lab may not always be at the top of your list, but if you follow these guidelines, you might find it to be a highly mutualistic relationship.

“It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge” — Albert Einstein

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