Faculty Credit for Mentoring

Undergraduate Students

 

There are two main ways for faculty to receive credit for mentoring undergraduates in research and creative activities.

• 291/491 directed research and creative activities credits: Students can sign up for course credit for conducting independent research or creative activities with a faculty mentor. The deadline for students to register for 291/491 credits is the end of week five in both fall and spring. We strongly encourage faculty mentoring students in research or creative activities to have students register for credit since 1) students will have a record of their involvement on their transcripts, 2) these units can count for major and/or capstone requirements for some majors, and 3) faculty will receive official recognition as a mentor for students in research or creative activities, which can be valuable for tenure and/or promotion. Chapman’s Office of the Provost also provides a small monetary honorarium for faculty for each unit students sign up for research/creative activities. Finally, individual colleges may provide additional benefits for faculty who mentor students, using 291/491 as a way to track faculty involvement. More info is available here.
• Summer research stipends: CUE runs an 8-week summer research program, the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF). Faculty mentors in this program receive $1,000 stipends in recognition of your time mentoring students.

Best practices for mentoring undergraduates

CUE provides regular workshops and other programming for best practices on mentoring undergraduate students in research and creative activities. Please join our newsletter to get updates! In addition, we strongly encourage faculty to review the resources provided by the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research, which includes guides on developing 1) mentorship agreements with students, and 2) individual development plans for students.