Aggie Research Mentoring Program
The Aggie Research Mentoring Program is a collaborative leadership development program designed to enhance the teaching and mentoring skills of future faculty. The success of junior faculty increasingly hinges on the ability to mentor groups of students with diverse skills, experiences, and perspectives, while simultaneously guiding them to produce research. Although mentoring and teaching are critical career skills, the vast majority of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows lack relevant experience upon graduation. Through the Aggie Research Mentoring Program, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows lead a team of undergraduates and engage in a collaborative research project. Team Leaders periodically meet to discuss challenges they face mentoring teams and engaging with high-impact educational practices. In monthly meetings, the team leaders combine their various levels of experience and backgrounds to collaborate on mentoring strategies, helping each other overcome challenges and develop innovative research and teaching practices.
Benefits
- Gain mentoring experience and advanced teaching skills for academic careers
- Increase your research productivity
- Network with leaders in education who can provide professional references
- Earn certification as an Aggie Research Mentor
To join the program, prospective Team Leaders must
- Be a graduate student or postdoctoral fellow
- Submit an Aggie Research Mentoring Registration Form and intake survey
- Obtain approval from a Faculty Mentor to create a team
- Indicate the number of undergraduates (3-8) to be recruited to form a research team
- Interview and select team members from undergraduate applicants who contact you
To earn certification as an Aggie Research Mentor, Team Leaders must
- Participate for at least one semester (or Summer Session)
- Conduct weekly meetings with their research team
- Attend monthly Team Leader Meetings
- Complete weekly program evaluations and exit survey
- Document the development of a Best Practice for team leadership
Questions about the program?
Visit FAQs or feel free to email us at aggieresearch@tamu.edu.