Work In Progress: Multiple Mentor Model for Cross-Institutional Collaboration and Undergraduate Research

In this paper we describe our work in progress (WIP) partnership between three academic institutions to enhance multiple-mentor models for undergraduate research students. Our collaboration includes a unique planning effort to thoughtfully increase the number of women/BIPOC students in our programs, and support them in pathways to graduate education. We have designed a scaffolded undergraduate research experience for students that includes traditional summer research experiences, course based research experiences, and a multi-mentor model for graduate pathways. Our preliminary results indicate that the scaffolded research experience can translate to many types of academic institutions, including creating research opportunities with community college students. Our team has developed materials for mentor training, recruiting students, and long-term funding strategies using templates for faculty grants. In our first course offerings students have demonstrated a strong increase in research identity as observed in student journal prompts and survey results.