MIT / Department of Biology / Biology UROP and Mentoring Program / For Faculty Advisors

The BUMP for Faculty

Your mentorship of UROP students is very important! A student in your lab can:

Make a significant contribution to a research project
Test a research career
Offer your graduate students and postdocs valuable mentoring experience

If you are a new faculty member, UROP students can be a useful addition to your growing research program; UROP students can help you integrate into Institute life.

The BUMP offers information to help you select and guide UROP Students!

General information

The Biology Department encourages all course VII majors, and interested students from other Departments, to participate in undergraduate research.

Research is usually performed through the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, known as UROP.
Most course VII majors do UROP at some time during their degree.
Departmental policy is that a student should commit to at least two semesters or a summer and a semester in a lab, pending approval by the lab head.

Q and A

1. How do I advertise for UROPs?

Use the UROP web site, or simply email a description of your position to UROP@mit.edu and ask for it to be posted.
Announce in your class that you are looking for a UROP.
Invite a specific student who seems bright and interested to join your lab as a UROP.

2. How should I choose a UROP student?

One plus to look for is completion of 7.02, which brings a student to a reasonable level of technical sophistication. However, you might also consider a freshman who has real enthusiasm, and will potentially remain with your lab for several years.
Another great attribute is true interest of a student in the project you are offering.
You might consider whether the student thinks he/she would like a research career, or is bound for medical school. However, part of the function of a UROP is to help a student decide whether he/she likes performing research, and all students should be given the opportunity.
Another important criterion is time commitment. Is a potential student able to work at least 12 hours/week? Willing to commit to at least two semesters in the lab?
See this sample questionnaire for additional thoughts.

3. What makes a good UROP project?

A good UROP project should be clearly defined, and initially simple. A UROP student will have limited time, and limited expertise.
A student will usually need to learn basic techniques, will usually not know how to trouble-shoot, set up a control, or think about next experiments.
All necessary reagents should be in the lab before the student starts the project, so as not to waste time waiting.
The postdoc or graduate student mentor who is directly supervising a UROP student should play a major role in the design of the project.

4. How much time commitment should I expect from a UROP student?

Biology Department guidelines state that a UROP student should commit to at least two semesters in a lab, or a summer plus a semester.
Typically, students spend 12 hours per week in the lab, for 12 units of credit. Less will not allow much research to be done, and may be frustrating to all.
It is very difficult for a student to take 7.02 or other lab course (such as 5.310) together with a UROP, and this should be discouraged.
A student should treat a UROP as equivalent to a course, with an appropriate number of hours assigned and a serious level of commitment.
Along these lines, be wary of accepting a UROP student who is taking 48 units of coursework and wants to do a 12 unit UROP in addition. Many students cannot handle this course load and a UROP will be the first thing to suffer. UROP should count as a course, not as an “extra”.

5. What is the difference between UROP for credit and UROP for pay?

UROP for credit is typically performed during the term or over IAP.
UROP for credit will give a student units that can be applied as General Institute Credit. A student should register for 7URG, when UROP is taken for grades, or for 7UR when UROP is taken Pass/Fail.
UROP for pay is typically performed only over the summer. This can often be funded through the Department, but must be funded by the PI during the term.

6. What is the difference between 7.18 and traditional project lab?

Both traditional project lab and 7.18 earn 30 units of credit required for a course VII major.
Both fulfill a CI-M requirement (Communications Intensive requirement in the Major).
In traditional project labs (7.16, 7.17 and 7.13) a student works as part of a group of approximately 15 students.
7.18 is a continuation of research a student is already performing in a research lab. It includes meeting with other 7.18 students twice weekly.
A student will need to have worked at least one semester in the lab before registering for 7.18. You will need to approve his/her continuing for 7.18 credit.

7. What paperwork needs to be completed?

A student will need to register for 7URG (letter grade), 7UR (graded P/D/F) or 7.18 as appropriate on the regular registration form.
For 7UR or 7URG a student needs to fill out a UROP cover sheet which is available online, in 68-120, and in the UROP office, 7-104.
You, your student, and the UROP Coordinator (Prof. Gene Brown in 68-223B) all sign this form.
The student will also need to submit a 1-3 page research proposal with this form; see the online instructions.
For 7.18, you will need to write a letter of acceptance when contacted by the 7.18 staff.
For UROP for pay, a student will need to fill in forms from the UROP office to apply for funds. These will include a summary of the research project, the hours the student plans to work, your signature as well as that of the Departmental UROP Coordinator (Prof. Gene Brown).
For UROP for credit, a student will need to officially register by submitting an Add/Drop form to the Registrar’s Office by Drop Date (Add Date does not apply to UROPs).
A student must submit the UROP proposal to the Biology Education Office (68-120) before the deadline.

8. What should I expect from a UROP student?

A student is expected to work the number of hours to which he/she has committed.
It is important to explain that training and supervision of a student takes time, and will use grant money. A student is therefore expected to work seriously and responsibly to justify this investment.
A student should present his/her research at lab meeting, in an organized and efficient format. The student may be helped by information in this Tips for Talks paper and by information on the UROP web site.
A student should keep good records and should conduct research in an ethical manner (see questions 9 & 10).

9. How independently should a UROP student work?

Initially, a student will work best on a simple project which is closely supervised. This will build his/her confidence, and allow you to assess his/her abilities.
With time and good performance, a student should be able to play a more independent role on the project. Optimally, a student should learn to trouble-shoot and suggest next experiments.
Confidence that a student can work safely in the lab, has mastered the techniques being used, and will come to you if a question arises, are all good criteria for allowing more independence.
Note that a UROP student cannot work in a laboratory unsupervised.

10. What should a UROP student expect from me?

As a Faculty advisor, you should meet with a student at least once per semester to discuss progress of a project and offer other mentoring advice.
You (or a grad student/postdoc mentor directly supervising the student) should give the student a clear description of the project.
You should help the student write a brief (1-3 page) UROP proposal every semester.
If you are the direct supervisor, you should train a student to perform the appropriate experiments, after appropriate safety training.
You should explain how to keep good records, and why this is important.
You should get to know a UROP student well enough to write a meaningful letter of recommendation.

11. What are some important parameters in training a UROP student to perform research?

Be patient and explain principles of experiments. A student may have little previous expertise in the area he/she is entering.
Explain the meaning of hypothesis-driven research. You will help a student to understand that an experiment is designed to TEST a theory, not to PROVE it. This sets an important tone where there is no expectation of getting a “correct” answer, just an accurate one.
Establish basic rules of ethical laboratory behavior.
Emphasize the importance of accurate and timely record keeping.
Explain that experiments often fail, and that one should not be discouraged. It is important to figure out why and move on.

12. What are some important parameters in training a UROP student to perform research?

First, you should strongly encourage your graduate student or postdoc to attend a 1.5 hour BUMP training session that will help him/her to effectively supervise a UROP student. Topics will include: choosing a student to work with you, defining a good project, teaching techniques, and coping with problems. Attending this session and registering as a UROP mentor will also allow a mentor to receive an official letter of recognition from the Department and be eligible for Departmental awards.
You should work with the grad student or postdoc mentor to help define a simple and feasible project.
A mentor should understand that the goal of supervising a UROP student is to educate the student in how to do scientific research. A UROP student should not be treated as simply “a pair of hands”, but the interaction should have a significant intellectual component.
You should discuss how to effectively supervise a UROP student with the mentor. This would include teaching good ethics, record-keeping, formulating hypotheses and troubleshooting.
You should also discuss reasonable expectations – how much time the mentor should devote to supervision and how to balance this with time devoted to his/her own research .

13. What should I do if a student is not working the expected number of hours?

Try to find out whether the student is overloaded through courses or other activities. Frequently a student will sign up for too many courses, and UROP is the first thing to go.
If course pressure is undermining a student’s commitment to research it may be best to have the student move out of the lab. For a student who has been in the lab a while, taking a semester’s break and then returning for the summer or subsequent semester is often acceptable.
Ask whether he/she is enjoying UROP. Explain that understanding he/she possibly does not like research is a useful lesson.
Where a student is taking UROP for credit, the UROP must be dropped by Drop Date, or the course will appear on the student’s transcript.

14. What do I do about a student who does not perform adequately?

Try to determine what the problem is. For example, does the student not understand or not like the project?
Work with the mentor to encourage the UROP student to ask questions. Emphasize that naïve questions are expected, and are not “stupid”.
Ask the student to explain what he/she does, and does not, understand, using written notes. These should be brought to a meeting.
Give the student reading material. Encourage him/her to think about the project and to write down questions as he/she is reading.
Try to assess whether it is the student who does not understand, or the mentor who has not explained the project clearly.
Perhaps the project is not well-thought-out, and could be improved.