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Working with Undergraduate Students

Engaging undergraduate students in research and experiential learning opportunities can ignite their passion for their chosen field and provide valuable hands-on experience. Undergraduate research experiences have been shown to improve self-efficacy, critical thinking and problem solving skills, build confidence and interpersonal skills, foster a sense of belonging and provide additional support for their academic and personal growth.

Here are some pathways to providing research experiences to undergraduates.

Undergraduate Research Pathways

Credit for undergraduate research

  • Undergraduate Research Experiences: Faculty can offer credit for undergraduate research through an Undergraduate Research Experience (use course numbers 283 or 479). The university-wide number for undergraduate research experiences are 283 at the lower division level and 479 at the upper division (e.g. LING 283/LING 479). In order for the student to register for the course, a section must be created in the class schedule. The process for creating these courses is quite simple at the university level, but may vary depending on your department’s procedures. Prior to considering this option, make sure to speak with your department chair or unit head about it.Things to consider for creation of a new undergraduate research course:
  1. The 283/479 courses can be taken for 1-3 credits. It is important to discuss with the student what your expectations would be from them for a 1-credit course vs. a 3-credit course, and to ensure that there is enough work for the student to do to earn those credits.
  2. The 283/479 courses can be taken for a grade or pass/fail. As you discuss this opportunity with the student, you should determine whether there will be a way for you to assign distinct grades for their work (e.g. if they will submit a paper or do a presentation at the end of the term), or if it will be easier to determine that the student did satisfactorily in order to earn a ‘pass.
  3. A new course section should be created for each faculty mentor who is supervising undergraduate researchers. Once your chair has approved your supervision of an undergraduate student using the undergraduate research experience courses, they can submit a ‘schedule change request’ form with the Registrar to add the course to the schedule of classes. The course should be set at a cap of 0 so that the faculty member is able to control enrollment in the course using permission numbers. In cases where the research experience is agreed upon after the add/drop deadline for the regular session, the course can be set up as a ‘2nd 10-week’ or ‘2nd 7-week’ course so students do not have to pay late fees for registering for the course.
  4. Students can both earn credit AND be paid for their research experience. This means that students are eligible to take this course and also be paid through your grants, through grants administered by the Office of Undergraduate Research, and through the Work-Study program.
  • Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP): Faculty can offer 1-2 academic credits through a VIP that they lead or co-lead. Students can participate for multiple semesters with the ability to register for 1 or 2 credits per semester at the 200, 400, and 500 level that may be repeated for up to 6 semesters for a maximum of 12 credits. Credits are usually electives unless specified. VIP opportunities are
  1. diverse – welcoming all people and all perspectives
  2. multidisciplinary – drawing students and faculty from all disciplines
  3. vertically integrated – maintaining a mix of freshman through graduate students each semester, and
  4. long-term – supporting student and faculty participation for the duration of their time at Boise State.Learn more about VIPs
  • Internship Credit: Visit the Career Services webpage for more information
  • Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs): (more information coming soon)