Undergraduate Research Resources

The college is piloting a new research portal, the Undergraduate Student Research Placement Tool (USRPT), in collaboration with the College of Engineering to help faculty identify qualified undergraduate students for their research environments. Faculty can enter research positions and be matched with undergraduates who express interest in your project.

We recognize that some units across the college have existing processes for matching students with faculty, and it is not our intention to replace those mechanisms. Participation is entirely voluntary, but this is an exciting opportunity for engaging with our undergraduate students who are interested in getting research experience. As a reminder, the college has several ways to support student research.

2023-24 faculty form

To post a position:

STEP 1: Enter an undergraduate research position.
It should take you no more than 3-5 minutes! You will receive an email confirmation when you submit the position. If you have multiple positions to enter, you will need to enter them separately. 

STEP 2: Review student applications.
We will provide faculty who enter one or more positions with a link to a searchable read-only database of all applicants. If you choose to post positions for student access, you will be emailed when a student indicates an interest in your position(s).

STEP 3: Report student placement for each position (important that you do this!) 

• Positions are added on a rolling basis. (Faculty who enter positions earlier will get best access to student applications.)
• Faculty who choose to post positions for student access will be emailed when a student indicates an interest in their position(s)
• Faculty can email and interview students, as needed, to fill position(s)
• Student hiring is initiated by faculty with their program/department HR representative.
• Faculty should report ALL student placements. (Our student and position database accuracy depends upon this!)
• If you have any questions, please contact Rebecca Sallade (sallade.3@osu.edu)

University listing

Expectations for undergraduate researchers vary from faculty to faculty. It is important to set these expectations early with undergraduate students and continue to meet with your students on a regular basis in a mentoring capacity. UR&CI has a contract(opens in new window) template available for you and your mentees to use. This contract can assist you in discussing expectations and building a productive and satisfying working relationship from day one.  Extensive additional resources on mentoring are available from the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER), including additional templates, toolkits, research articles, networks, and training. Our colleagues in the Center for Clinical and Translational Science offer multiple CIMER-designed workshops each year to help faculty who mentor early career researchers to become more effective research and career mentors.

The Honors Faculty Service Award recognizes excellence in honors advising, honors instruction, honors committee work, and other honors initiatives and responsibilities which have enhanced the quality of education available to honors students in the liberal arts, including research mentorship.

Deadline: February 1

Nomination Process: Chairs may submit nominations of one of their faculty members to the      Arts and Sciences Honors Program by sending an electronic copy of the nominee's packet to:        Lindsey Chamberlain (chamberlain.55@osu.edu). The nomination should include:

• Nomination letter that addresses the nominee’s contribution to honors advising (e.g., honors advising of a general departmental nature, of issues relating to graduate school, of fellowships, and/or of honors students who undertake research projects and theses); honors instruction; participation in the recruitment and retention of high-ability students; honors committee work at the departmental, division, and/or Arts and Sciences level; and special honors responsibilities or initiatives. Nominations should include (where possible) specific information and numbers about research, thesis advisees, etc.
• Curriculum vitae

Award: A one-time award of $1,000 will be provided annually.

The Arts and Sciences Honors Committee seeks to support early and diverse research experiences and invites proposals from departments for engaging small groups of undergraduate students in discipline-specific research experiences in which there is some unmet need regarding undergraduate research opportunities (for example, financial, increasing opportunities for underrepresented students, increasing exposure to early research experiences, increasing exposure to various types of research methods). The goal is to help all undergraduate students gain exposure to research in various disciplines with the hope that this early and diverse exposure may help them broaden their understanding of research and engage in independent research throughout their academic and professional careers.

• Departments may receive up to $15k to be used to support these experiences. Funding will go directly to students in the form of scholarships (financial aid rules apply).

• Successful past programs involved a cohort model in which students worked on a common research project in an area with few opportunities for undergraduate research under the guidance of a faculty member and were paid a stipend for their participation.

• Programs may take place during Summer 2024, Autumn 2024, or Spring 2025. Students need to be current undergraduate students earning an Arts and Sciences degree. Students do not need to be Honors students to participate. Students must be enrolled during semesters of funding.

• Please write a short proposal that includes the following topics:
  • need (for example: financial, increasing opportunities for underrepresented students, increasing exposure to early research experiences, increasing exposure to various types of research methods),
  • focus of research,
  • number and selection of students,
  • goals for students,
  • faculty leadership/mentorship,
  • budget,
  • semester of program offering including acknowledgement that students must be enrolled

• Please submit your proposal to the ASC Honors Committee by emailing it to Assistant Dean Lindsey Chamberlain (chamberlain.55@osu.edu) by January 1, 2024. The Research Scholarships subcommittee will evaluate and select programs by March. For questions, please email chamberlain.55@osu.edu.

Grant Opportunity for Undergraduate Research Programs