The Faculty Mentor Summary Form for URSA Engage 2025/2026 is now open and will close on October 12th at 11:59pm PT.

Submit Faculty Mentor Summaries 2025-2026
Creating a Mentoring Agreement

Application Timeline

Student applications are due on December 12, 2025 at 11:59pm PT and notifications of awards will be sent in late January. Awardees are expected to engage with their projects for an average of five hours a week for the 15-week duration of the project (mid-winter to the end of spring 2026). 

Program Timeline & Steps:

  1. Faculty submit mentor summaries by Sunday, October 12, 2025, at 11:59 PM.
  2. Mentor summaries will be posted for student access on the URSA website on October 13, 2025.
  3. Students express interest by submitting a form that is emailed directly to faculty mentors. We encourage faculty to host informal networking hours to connect with a larger number of students before selecting mentees.
  4. Faculty select mentees and invite them to apply to URSA Engage by December 12, 2025 at 11:59 PM.
  5. Students apply to the program by faculty invitation. The Office of Undergraduate Research will evaluate applications over winter break and notify placements on January 31, 2026.
  6. The program officially begins February 9, 2026. Program funding may be limited, though non-credit coursework will be available for all URSA Engage participants.

If you have questions about the URSA Engage process, we will be hosting faculty drop-in sessions on October 6 and 7 from 1:00–3:00 PM in Strand Hall 300, as well as online. Appointments outside these times are also available upon request by emailing Stephanie Ramos, Associate Director of Undergraduate Research.

About the URSA Engage Program

The URSA Engage Program is open to all types of faculty mentors across OSU. Our goal is to provide first- and second-year students (including first-year transfer students) with opportunities to build foundational research skills.

What Students Gain

Students develop skills such as:

  • Designing surveys

  • Writing literature reviews

  • Navigating IRB

  • Synthesizing and analyzing data

  • Drawing conclusions and writing reports or grants

  • Collaborating effectively in a research team

How We Define Research

We take a broad view of research:

“The creation of new knowledge and/or the use of existing knowledge in a new and creative way to generate new concepts, methodologies, and understandings.”

We encourage flexibility in how research is defined so students can explore a wide range of scholarly and creative work.

Why Your Role Matters

Students come to OSU expecting — and deserving — opportunities beyond the classroom. Faculty mentors play a vital role in shaping those experiences.

Join Us as a Mentor

We invite you to be listed as one of our faculty partners and mentor an early-career student this school year.

RUN (Research for Undergraduates Network)

Important Considerations for Selecting Students

Typically colleges do not fund more than 3 students per faculty, any request over three students needs to be approved by department/college leadership. Please email us if you have questions about this. We strongly recommend that you do not let more students apply than you think you can effectively mentor.

Students can only submit one application. If you do not have room for the student, or think the student’s interests do not align with your own, let them know ASAP so they can find another URSA Engage mentor to apply with.

After meeting with potential students please communicate with them if you will or will not accept them into your group. Students will then need to apply to the URSA Engage Program application form. They are not able to submit the application without your final approval.

Please note that faculty mentors can help students formulate ideas in their applications, but the applications need to be written in their own words. Faculty mentors will be able to review students responses in the final application submission. 

After all applications have been submitted, we score students solely on their responses to questions on the student application. Therefore, we cannot guarantee the number of students you will end up mentoring. Students and faculty find out who is accepted late-January.

Faculty mentors of URSA Engage awardees will need to meet with URSA Engage awardees at least once a week, or 2-3 times a quarter if a graduate student or post-doctoral scholar is available to meet with the mentee at least once a week. This program is designed for early-career undergraduates, and quality mentoring is our highest priority.

Only academic faculty and professional faculty can be eligible mentors. Graduate students and post-doctoral scholars are not eligible to serve as the primary mentor submitting the application but may mentor URSA Engage awardees along with the primary faculty mentor.

No funding will be available this year to support faculty project-related expenses. Instead, those funds will be directed toward student compensation to help address ongoing inflation and the high cost of living.

Students are required to present their work at the Spring Poster Showcase, the Virtual Research Showcase, or another approved professional conference. This can happen up to when they graduate.