How to Find a Faculty Mentor

Whether you have an idea for an independent research project of your own and would like to find a faculty member to work with, or you are interested in learning about research and would like to find a faculty member who share your interest, here are some steps we recommend (with thanks to Berkeley's Haas Scholars Program, from whom we adopted these guidelines):

STEP #1: Identifying Potential Mentors

• List faculty members with whom you have taken courses and whose work has inspired or influenced your intellectual interests.
• Attend lectures on campus to familiarize yourself with other faculty members outside your courses. Check the Targum, visit the Rutgers Calendar of Events website at http://ruevents.rutgers.edu/, and check departmental postings for information on scheduled lectures and presentations. Not all of the learning on campus happens in classrooms!
• Consider the interdisciplinary implications of your interests and identify all relevant departments--including professional schools--that may house potential mentors. Don’t just be limited to your major department!
• Check departmental websites for up-to-date information on faculty research interests and publications. This is a great way to learn about your discipline.
• Visit departmental offices and request information from staff on faculty research interests and availability. The departmental graduate assistant can often be an especially good source of information.
• Look at recent course listings – both undergrad and grad -- in relevant departments to find out what faculty members are teaching. Many departments publish their own course listings.
• Ask other faculty members which of their colleagues share your research interests.
• Talk to fellow students, especially seniors involved in research and/or those active in the majors’ association -- to find out which faculty members specialize in areas relevant to your proposed research project. T.A.s or other graduate students are an especially good source of information about faculty research interests.

Step #2: Approaching Potential Mentors

• Find out when potential mentors hold office hours by consulting postings in the departments, on the web, or on faculty office doors. Avoid calling on the phone; let the faculty members manage their own time as they choose.
• Do your homework before you go to office hours; inform yourself about the faculty member’s research interests, areas of specialization and/or publications. Be able to state why you are seeking out this particular person’s advice.
• Before speaking with a faculty member, know what you wish to get out of the meeting: feedback on a research or creative project idea? Help defining the purpose or scope of a project? Suggestions for further background reading? Advice about designing a research instrument or plan? Information about laboratory facilities or equipment? You are running this meeting, so it’s important to have an agenda, both to use time efficiently and to show that you are serious about your purpose.
• Don’t go in empty handed: have with you a paragraph summarizing your research project/interests, your transcript, your resume, and a list of specific questions/requests for guidance.
• Before leaving the meeting, think about what kind of follow-up you would like to have with the faculty member. If you have established a good rapport and would like to develop an ongoing working relationship, ask if he/she would be willing to meet with you again to look at a draft of your research proposal, to answer additional questions about a topic you have discussed, or for some other specific purpose.
• If there isn’t a good match between your interests and those of the faculty member, ask him/her to suggest other colleagues you might approach. Even if this particular individual has been very helpful, it may be useful to ask for additional suggestions of people to speak with, since the more input you get in developing your proposal, the better.
• Be confident and assertive about asking for help, but keep the length of your meeting within the established time limit (e.g. 15 minute or 10 minute “slots”). It’s important to be considerate both of the faculty member, who faces many demands on his/her time, and your fellow students waiting outside the door.

Step #3: Popping the Question

• Once you have identified a faculty member with whom you wish to work on your research or creative project, you will need to ask that person to make a commitment to serve as your faculty sponsor or advisor. Clearly communicate what kind of time commitment you are asking for and what tasks will be entailed for him/her.
• Give your sponsor a copy of your research proposal, if appropriate, as well as any forms she/he will need to fill out to establish a formal advising relationship. For letters of recommendation that must be submitted under separate cover, include a stamped, addressed envelope directed to the appropriate party as a courtesy to the faculty member. Be sure to allow plenty of lead time before deadlines and make sure your sponsor knows when forms are due. Arrange an agreed upon date to check back with the faculty member to verify that forms have been submitted.
• If a faculty member declines to serve as your sponsor, don’t be discouraged! A negative response likely says more about the professor’s prior commitments than it does about the merits of your project. If you’ve done your homework and have a sound proposal, return to Step #1 and begin the process again. With persistence, you will eventually succeed in finding a sponsor. If you’re planning ahead now to do interesting research later, you are by definition the kind of highly motivated student that makes the work of being a university professor worthwhile.

The Aresty Research Center offers workshops and individual assistance to applicants preparing research proposals. For additional assistance in finding a faculty mentor, contact the Aresty Research Center's Administrative Director, Dean Justine Levine at (732) 932-7027 or jhernan@rci.rutgers.edu, or stop by our office.