ARC supports faculty in integrating first-year undergraduate students into their research projects. The program addresses the need for early research opportunities during the academic year, particularly in disciplines where pathways are less defined. Participating faculty receive $500 from the Office of Undergraduate Research to support student training, materials and project expenses.

ARC is open to undergraduate students from all backgrounds and disciplines, offering students without prior research experience access to meaningful, for-credit research training that might otherwise be unavailable. The program also leverages federal work-study to provide financial support for eligible students, removing barriers to participation and ensuring that all students have the opportunity to engage in research. Early exposure to the research process helps students build essential skills and confidence, preparing them for future collaboration with faculty or independent projects. This engagement fosters a culture of inquiry and positions research as a fundamental part of a WashU undergraduate education.

Faculty projects for Spring 2027 will be accepted via the submission form through Monday, October 5, 2026.

Getting involved in the ARC program allows you to expand access to undergraduate research at WashU. The program streamlines recruiting and matching motivated students to your projects, adding capacity and new perspectives to help move your research forward. Engaging students before they declare a major can spark their interest in your field and potentially further work in your department, as the following ARC student quotations demonstrate:

• “I have been taught to keep a very open mind to everything - I never would have considered staying in Classics prior to this project, as I knew nothing about the course of study, but now I am minoring in it!”
• “I think this experience has encouraged me to explore problems from different angles and look at multiple possible solutions. Furthermore, it's given me an increased interest in learning how to code, which was something I previously had an aversion to. I found a reason to be interested in coding, and it became a skill I want to explore more.” 
• "This experience has changed the way I think about what research means in a broader lens. As a history major, I always thought that research was just for STEM, but after being a part of ARC and learning about all the amazing research that people from every department were conducting, it changed my entire perspective. It made me excited for the next three years I have at WashU and all the opportunities in history and research that will come." 

Through your mentorship, you cultivate a culture of inquiry that benefits students and our campus community.  

The Office of Undergraduate Research will provide Arts & Sciences faculty members with $500 per project to support student research expenses (materials, training, etc.). Additionally, Undergraduate Research will facilitate a peer cohort among the students, offering them extra mentorship, support and accountability to enhance their experience and complement the faculty's guidance.  

ARC students are expected to  

• actively and reliably engage in their assigned research tasks for 3-10 hours per week, as agreed upon with their faculty mentor.  
• ask questions, communicate effectively, meet deadlines and demonstrate a commitment to learning.  
• participate in monthly reflection exercises and meetings through the OUR to help them critically engage with their work and stay on track.  

Students will earn academic credit through a directed study course, providing accountability and reinforcing the learning goals of the research experience. If your department doesn’t already offer a relevant class (e.g., Anthro 2900: Introduction to Directed Research), the Academic Administration and Student Records Team can create one. Each faculty mentor will have a section in their department’s course to document their efforts, and Undergraduate Research will manage this process, including coordinating department chair approvals. This approach benefits both students and departments by creating additional pathways for undergraduates to engage in research.

Additionally, the Office of Undergraduate Research will also cover the employer portion of wages for federal work-study eligible students, broadening access to research experiences for all undergraduates regardless of their financial situation.  

Faculty mentors invest their time and expertise to nurture a student’s development as a researcher. In partnership with Undergraduate Research, they also provide an accountability structure to ensure student fulfillment of curricular and, if applicable, employment expectations. You are expected to provide guidance, support and supervision to the student, as follows:

• Review and sign a mentor-mentee agreement at the start of the program to set clear expectations and define goals for the student's role.
• Provide the training and resources needed for your mentee to succeed, including regular meetings and discussions of their research progress.
• Educate and include the student on the conceptual work of the project.  
• Assign a grade (P/NP) in the directed studies course and, if applicable, approve student employee hours for federal work-study eligible students. 

ARC is designed to engage first-year students new to research, so projects requiring highly specialized skills or significant independent work might not be the best fit. Faculty are encouraged to consider how undergraduates can contribute to ongoing research efforts while gaining exposure to the research process. Past ARC projects included the following student responsibilities (see these example projects):

• Conduct literature reviews and create annotated bibliographies or short summaries of key works
• Engage in archival research: reading, extracting, transcribing, translating and/or coding information from sources for input into a database
• Utilize text mining, keyword analysis and related tools (e.g. Python, OCR) to examine large bodies of texts
• Musical analysis of the production, sample selection, lyrics and more in albums, songs, and recordings
• Sight-read and play with a small ensemble to assess readability and clarity of handwritten jazz scores
• Clean, sort, measure, photograph and document archaeological specimens
• Note-taking during seminars or other documentation
• Gather and organize policy documents at the federal, state and local level
• Community outreach, e.g., to facilitate participation, to report on research findings
• Public-facing graphic design to translate research and overall historical narrative, e.g., for museums
• Support the preparation of project outputs, such as presentations, grants and publications through proofreading, formatting or reviewing for clarity
• Collect, manage, code, and/or analyze interview or behavioral data
• Develop 3D modeling skills to mockup historical designs of technologies
• Review and edit content for and beta-test of a healthcare intervention chatbot
• Use MatLab to produce interactive visuals (no coding experience necessary)
• Perform and analyze nested sampling simulations (no coding experience necessary)
• Participate in team meetings

It's perfectly acceptable for students to start with more routine tasks if they are also introduced to the broader research and ideation process. We're happy to discuss how your current research can involve undergraduates in a way that benefits both your work and the student's growth: please contact the Office of Undergraduate Research at undergradresearch@wustl.edu, or drop by upcoming ARC information sessions with Undergraduate Research Faculty Director, Lori Markson:

• Tuesday, September 15, from 2 - 3 pm
• Wednesday, September 23, from 2 - 3 pm
• Attend any session in person (Somers Family Hall 416F) or via Zoom

Submitting an ARC project is straightforward. You’ll complete a form that asks for the information below. Please be mindful to use language accessible to first-year students.  

1. Project title and description: Provide a brief title (sentence) and overview of the research project (paragraph), including the line of inquiry or creative objective.
2. Student tasks and responsibilities: What will the student do as part of the project?
3. Learning goal: What can the student expect to gain from engaging in this project?
4. Ideal student qualities: List up to three attributes that would make a student a good fit for the project and likely to grow through participating.
5. Time commitment and logistics: Indicate the estimated hours per week and any constraints on when or where the student would need to work on the project (e.g., specific days or hours, the need for in-person work, etc.)

Ready to submit? https://undergradresearch.washu.edu/advancing-research-culture-arc-project-submission-form

On the application, first-year students will identify projects that align with their interests and goals. The Office of Undergraduate Research will select a slate of strong candidates for the program, giving particular consideration to students who have had limited access to research opportunities and show potential for growth through participation in ARC.  

The Office of Undergraduate Research will then match the selected students to projects where their articulated interests and strengths align with project learning goals and ideal student qualities. Importantly, these first-year students may not yet have taken courses in your area or know their major; ARC is an opportunity to catalyze their interest in your department or program, rather than solidifying it. Faculty help open doors to research for students who may be new to the field but are eager and ready to engage.

Once matches are made, Undergraduate Research will forward the application(s) of the student(s) matched to your project for your review. We greatly appreciate faculty who step forward to create ARC opportunities. While matches are not guaranteed, our goal is to connect each faculty member with at least one student, and last year every project received a match. Faculty have the flexibility to accept or decline any student match and can choose to accept up to two students per project.

A key goal of ARC is to facilitate early entry into undergraduate research, especially among students with no prior research experience. If a student is already working on your research, they will not be selected for the program, and they cannot be supported through ARC.

If a student has approached you about joining your research in spring 2027, you can encourage them to apply for the ARC program. Please note, however, that the student may not ultimately be selected for the ARC program nor matched to your project.

If they are not already, existing mentees should be registered for academic credit for research (see this page for additional information). If your department or program does not have a 1000- or 2000-level directed study course appropriate for early research experiences, the Office of Undergraduate Research can provide support creating such a course in collaboration with your department and the Academic Administration and Student Records Team.

Faculty project submissions: Through October 5, 2026

Student ARC applications: November 8 at 11:59 PM

ARC matches to mentors: November 23

Mentors review and approve matches: December 7

If any questions remain unanswered, please do not hesitate to contact the OUR at undergradresearch@wustl.edu.