First Year Research Experience (FYRE) Opportunities Submission Form

Faculty Mentor Name(Required)
Secondary Contact
If a research team member other than yourself will frequently provide supervision or training to your FYRE student(s), please provide their contact information here.
As a prospective FYRE faculty mentor, I agree to...(Required)

About the Position

See examples from past years here.

 
Examples: "Virus-Host interactions and human diseases." "Engineering Sustainable Bioenergy and Biofuels." "Roots of Justice: Recent Arrivals (Immigrants and Refugees in Nebraska."
How many FYRE students could you accomodate for this project?(Required)
Consider your capacity to mentor and supervise first-year students, as well as the recruitment needs for your project and team. Some FYRE mentors design experiences to build a close relationship with one FYRE student. Other FYRE mentors request to supervise 2-3 students to support strong peer relationships (may improve employee retention and belongingness) and train multiple new students at the same time. Since 1 in 3 FYRE students decides to apply to UCARE to conduct research or creative activities in the sophomore year, having multiple undergraduate research trainees may align with your recruitment strategies for multi-year projects.
Career Interest Community(Required)

In our annual survey, 75% of FYRE participants indicated that they joined the program to "Build my skills and resume to advance my career goals." Your selection here will help students find the right FYRE position to match their professional goals. Please check all industry-themed groups related to the opportunity being offered. Find more information about our Career Interest Communities here: https://careers.unl.edu/channels/career-interest-communities/.

Please briefly "pitch" your research or creative project to incoming first-year, first-time undergraduate applicants. Half of the prospective FYRE students are first-generation college students (double their share of the overall UNL student population). Often, family members or youth program mentors are helping new students apply for your job. Like an inspiring "TED Talk," your research or creative project description should be relatable and accessible to the general public. To motivate students to apply and hit submit, we encourage you to highlight why this work is interesting or rewarding, and to mention connections to regional, national, or global issues.
Example: "Responsibilities include reading and learning about microbial physiology and synthetic biology, conducting experiments, collecting and analyzing data alongside graduate students and the adviser, as well as general lab maintenance and preparing materials for experiments. Trainees attend weekly lab meetings and present their progress twice a semester."
Focus on the strengths, interests, and translatable skills that first-year, first-time undergraduates bring, which are unlikely to include course prerequisites or prior related work experience. Example: "An interest in stories of immigrants and refugees in Nebraska. Passion for telling the real history of marginalized communities in Nebraska. Excellent reading and writing skills and ability to read dense material. Responsible and detail oriented. Cultural sensitivity and determination. Interest in archival and library research. Students from any major can apply (but may be of special interest to students in Ethnic Studies, Global Studies, Political Science, Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, English and other related disciplines)."
Tell students what kind of relationship they can expect to build with you and make a best case for yourself as a mentor. How do you and your team support student learning, training and professional development, and sense of belongingness in the workplace environment? How flexible are you with student schedules or remote work? If you and your team have helped a lot of students get into top graduate schools or created fun traditions together, mention them. If you are passionate about working with first-generation college students or involved in student success or upward mobility initiatives in your College or academic field, that may also be relevant.
Max. file size: 31 MB.

Thank you for submitting a job description for the First Year Research Experience (FYRE) Program. FYRE takes applications from students from late May to late July. In early August, Office of Undergraduate Research & Fellowships staff will provide guidance for reviewing candidate applications for your position. In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns, please email us at ucare@unl.edu.