Working with Undergraduate (UG) Students – If you plan to work with undergraduate students, start by thinking about the kinds of tasks that UGs can successfully perform given their workload and time constraints. For example, UG students who volunteer are likely to get busy during midterms and finals.

 How can UG students be compensated for their volunteer work?

1. PIs can pay students hourly wages out of start-up or grant funds
   • For NSF-funded projects, PIs can involve undergraduates through NSF’s “Research Experiences for Undergraduates” program. Typically, undergraduates are supported as “REU supplementals,” which propose specific ways for undergraduate students to participate actively in ongoing NSF-funded research. More details for faculty can be found on NSF’s REU for Faculty page, as well as the REU Program Overview.”
2. Some students may be eligible for course credit
   • Students who sign up to be Academic Peer Mentors register for INST228 to receive course credit for their work as instructional support.
   • The college also offers INST309, which is an independent study course for students doing individualized work/research with a faculty member.
   • For more information on these courses, please reach out to Ron Padron.
3. Even without formal compensation, UG students get a lot of value from volunteering on research projects. For example:
   • They get to put professional experience on their resume (many may have resumes that only include entry-level positions)
   • You can get to know them, so they may turn to you for a letter of recommendation when they are looking for internships, jobs, or graduate education
   • They may want to pursue a Ph.D., so this experience will be very helpful as they can apply to NSF’s Graduate Research Fellowship program for support if they are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and doing research that broadens participation or is a member of an under-represented minority
   • You may tell them that if you get grant funding, you will consider hiring them first