Find the right people
How to Find Professors for Undergraduate Research
Build a focused shortlist of professors whose current research matches your interests, preparation, and the kind of undergraduate experience you want.
8 minute read · Updated
Start with questions, not names
Your starting point can be broad enough to grow. Maybe you are drawn to how cities manage water, how cells respond to treatment, how people tell political stories, or a method you want to learn. Write down a few plain-language questions, plus any coursework, experiences, or skills that make the questions meaningful to you.
Research takes different forms across disciplines. A good search can lead to a lab experiment, a computational project, fieldwork, archival research, creative practice, or theoretical work. You do not need the right label before you start. Focus on work you can explain clearly and want to understand.
Search for current work
Search university and department sites with your questions in mind. Read a professor’s faculty page, recent project descriptions, lab site, publications, news, and any funding information you can find. Recent activity is more useful than a title or a long list of past interests.
Ahad’s approved shortlisting method:
- Used Ciphon's category filters to make a professor shortlist.
- Checked which shortlisted professors had active funding.
Treat active funding as one signal of current activity, not as a verdict on whether someone is worth contacting.
Field note
“I was focused on getting professors to respond, but the next challenge was making room to meet them. I started blocking specific windows in my calendar so I could reply with real availability instead of scrambling each time.”
Check more than the topic
Topic overlap is not enough. Look for a piece of current work you can put into your own words, then identify what you might learn and the preparation you would bring. Your connection should be specific without pretending you already understand everything.
Too broad
I am interested in your research.
Specific enough
Your recent work on urban water systems connects to my question about how city infrastructure shapes public memory. I would like to learn how you approach archival evidence in that work.
Also look for the mentoring context. A faculty member may supervise undergraduates directly, work through graduate students or lab managers, or have a group structure that shapes how new students enter. A faculty page and active work do not prove an opening exists. They give you a reason to ask about current opportunities.
Build a shortlist you can explain
Keep the list small. For each person, write one sentence covering their current work, its connection to your question, and what you could bring. Treat it as a working research note.
| Professor | Department | Current work | Activity signal | Why they fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dr. Maya Chen | Environmental history | Urban water systems and public memory | Active project | Strong topic connection |
| Dr. Amara Okafor | Computational biology | Interpretable models for cellular systems | Recent lab update | Relevant coursework |
| Dr. Eli Turner | Political communication | Local media and civic participation | Current publication | Methods worth learning |
Dr. Maya Chen
Environmental history
Urban water systems and public memory
Active projectStrong topic connectionDr. Amara Okafor
Computational biology
Interpretable models for cellular systems
Recent lab updateRelevant courseworkDr. Eli Turner
Political communication
Local media and civic participation
Current publicationMethods worth learning
Before a professor goes on your shortlist
- Their current activity is visible through recent projects, publications, lab updates, or active funding.
- You can state a comprehensible connection to their work in your own words.
- You can name relevant preparation, such as a course, skill, project, or question you have pursued.
- You understand the mentoring context: who works with undergraduates and how the group is organized.
- You have confirmed practical contact details, including the right department or lab page and current email address.
Choose who to contact first
Start with the professors whose current work gives you the clearest connection. If you are unsure where to begin, ask current instructors, advisors, graduate students, and experienced undergraduates for referrals or context about the people and groups you are considering.
A referral can help you find the right person to learn from, but it does not replace your own reading. Bring a concise explanation of what you noticed and one thoughtful question when you reach out.