Building Strong Mentorship Ecosystems to Support Positive URE Student Outcomes

Mentorship ecosystems significantly impact undergraduate research experience (URE) student outcomes. Institutional, departmental, and research team cultures contribute to the mentorship ecosystem, but equally important are mentor-student relationships and the skills that mentors and mentees bring to their relationships. Research investigating the association between relational factors and URE student outcomes is needed to design optimal URE learning experiences. The mission of the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) is to advance research in this area and provide support to research students, mentors and institutions. This commentary highlights what research has revealed about research students, their mentors and the student-mentor relationship, and the evidence-based resources and training offered through CIMER to support scholars investigating UREs.