Training Postgraduates for Inclusive and Effective Undergraduate Research Mentorship

Carnegie Mellon University’s Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and Educational Innovation and the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholar Development recently created the Mentoring Undergraduate Researchers (MUR) Institute for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. The MUR Institute supports the development of the next generation of research mentors through cross-disciplinary generative learning exercises and novel content delivery, culminating in the development of scaffolded mentoring plans for participants’ research. To assess MUR’s efficacy, pre- and postsurveys were administered to multiple cohorts of participants; results have shown increases in participants’ knowledge and perceived ability to be an effective and inclusive mentor as a result of MUR participation. This article elaborates upon MUR’s curriculum and assessments to contribute the institute’s novel approach to the growing literature on undergraduate research mentor training.