Research Mentor Information

Temple College Undergraduate Research Experience (TCURE)

Summer Research Mentorship Information

Thank you for considering an opportunity to serve as a student research advisor for the Temple College Undergraduate Research Experience (TCURE) this academic year. Research advisors play a vital role in the success of students participating in TCURE. The purpose of this letter is to provide information and hopefully answer some questions about the program. 

Students that are selected as potential TCURE students take a research methods course (Biol 2389) in the fall and spring semester prior to their expected summer research experience. This course is an introductory research course that covers topics such as getting started with research, the scientific literature, ethics, basic data collection and statistics, hypothesis testing, and scientific communication. In addition, students (working individually or in teams of 2 or 3) develop a formal research proposal that will be submitted and presented at the end of the course. Most students start the course not knowing what they want to research but some have a general field-of-interest in mind and, consequently, may have contacted you because of that interest. The primary goal of their research proposal is to get the students thinking and planning ahead so that they are ready to begin their research with their research advisor as soon as the course ends. Although advisors are not expected to meet with students during the spring semester, we hope that mentors will engage with and assist their student(s) in developing realistic research ideas/questions that they can address during their summer research under the advisor’s supervision/oversight/guidance. This should make the research experience more productive for the students and advisors. 

The Timeline 

SPRING RESEARCH PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT
The student research proposal is developed during the research methods course prior to the summer research. Ideally, student will occasionally meet to consult with advisors (phone calls, Zoom calls, in-person, email, etc.) through the spring to facilitate proposal development. This can occur as frequently as the advisor wishes but we find that the more engaged advisors are on the front end of the process with the students (i.e., helping students navigate the proposal process) the better it will be for all involved during the summer. We want the proposals to be realistic, implementable, and meaningful for both the students and advisors. 

About Student Research Topics/Questions – Although this is a student-focused program, we want this experience to be valuable to advisors as well. Novel research questions are not necessarily required for these undergraduate projects. Ideally, they will be part of the advisor’s overall research program/process so that the advisor’s research lab also benefits from the experience. Many labs will have ongoing projects that a student can assist with and add to when a new procedure is added to the existing workflow. 

SUMMER RESEARCH
After the course ends, students should have a realistic student research proposal in-hand. If the student wants to pursue the research at that time, they will begin working with advisors more frequently (in the lab and/or field) to conduct their research. However, should a student decide that they do not want to pursue the proposed research at that time then they are free to back out prior to the actual research experience. Although this has previously happened, most students take pride in their research proposals and move forward with the actual research phase. 

END OF SUMMER RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM
The summer TCURE typically culminates with a poster presentation held at the Temple College TBI (Texas Bioscience Institute) campus. Students will present their research to attendees and celebrate their research experience with friends, family, and research colleagues. 

Should you have any questions about the program and your potential role as a student research advisor, please do not hesitate to contact me @ jason.locklin@templejc.edu, 254-298-8409 (office), or 254-760-3536 (cell). 

Thank you for your consideration,

Jason Locklin, Ph.D.

Temple College Dean of Natural Sciences