UROP Faculty and Supervisors

Each partner university's policies shall be the primary guidelines. These guidelines complement the university's guidelines and in cases where there are policy conflicts, the partner university's policies shall be followed.

Teaching and Supervision

There are two types of faculty guiding UROP, remote and onsite.

Remote faculty are usually faculty from other universities or practitioners who guide students through online videos. They help by providing research questions and inputs based on the latest knowledge from industry, consulting work, or policy dialogues, thereby increasing the relevance of student research. They may provide general feedback to a batch of UROP students and may not be able to provide one-on-one feedback.

Onsite faculty are based in the same university or campus as the student and provide direct guidance and supervision.

Students make some of their most meaningful connections with local faculty through UROP collaborations. As such students should seek out local faculty contact and advice, and faculty supervisors should make themselves available to UROP students at least once per term, if not more frequently.

Students are urged to meet regularly with their onsite supervisors to discuss issues related to their project and research role, specific research practices, expectations, laboratory rules, etc.

Local faculty are expected to be available to students, to answer questions and treat student researchers fairly. Faculty supervisors are mentors and intellectual guides, who play an important role in a student's UROP experience. Faculty ensure that projects meets departmental academic standards and that students satisfy all Institute and departmental safety requirements.

As a UROP faculty supervisor, mentor, and intellectual guide, you play an important role in a student's UROP experience. If the UROP project is for academic credit, you will ensure that your student's project meets your department's academic standards. You are expected to be available to your undergraduate researchers, answer their questions, and treat them with respect and fairness. You are also responsible for seeing that your UROPers meet Institute and departmental safety requirements.

In all cases, an approved UROP project presumes active and regular communication and oversight from university faculty supervisors. While most UROP projects occur on-campus, in circumstances where a student is conducting university-approved research away from the campus faculty supervisors should be prepared and available to provide regular guidance and oversight through such means as email, phone, and Skype. Note that work at a corporation or other commercial entity, even under the supervision of a university faculty member, and even if at a startup, is not eligible for the UROP program.

Applications

Students are required to submit online applications for each semester in which they participate in UROP. These applications include pay, credit, or volunteer details, as well as research proposals that describe the overall project, the student's own research role, goals, and expectations for the term. Faculty supervisors review and approve these applications online prior to submission to UROP Departmental Coordinators, and UROP staff for approval. Details on the Application Process for students are outlined on the Application Checklists and Application Deadlines pages in the Find Projects & Apply section. UROP staff are available to assist you and your students with any questions or concerns about available options, the application process, or participation.

Safety Issues

UROP participants sometimes se or work near materials, equipment, or energy that may be potentially hazardous to themselves, others, and/or the environment. The partner university guidelines requires that students follow the same rules and be afforded the same level of health and safety training, protection, and support as university employees.

As the project's Principal Investigator (PI), you are ultimately responsible for the health and safety of everyone in your laboratory, including employees and undergraduate researchers (UROPs). It is expected that UROP students will be supervised at all times while in the laboratory or other potentially hazardous environments. Therefore, a UROP student should not be assigned to be a supervisor, even to other UROPs or high school students.

Please make sure to communicate the hazards typically encountered in your laboratory as well as project specific hazards. This includes arranging for the appropriate lab specific and EHS safety training of UROP students. In addition, the university's safety system should be fully complied with. The partner university's safety responsibilities, training, and appropriate procedures and precautions should be observed.

Evaluating Students

As a UROP supervisor, you are asked to assess your UROP students at the end of each term. We want you to tell us about their contributions to your research group, and what their work habits were like. We want to hear about your "star performers" and their accomplishments, inventions, published papers, presentations, etc. We also want to hear about any problems, situations or frustrations you had. Your comments help us follow the progress of the UROP program as a whole. It also lets us identify the students best suited to represent MIT and UROP in public presentations to parents, alumni, and prospective students. It is very important that you take the time to give your UROP students regular feedback about their performance.