Choose mentors from each of your minor programs to work with during your senior year.
In your freshmen and sophomore years, work carefully with your advisors to find courses that help you explore the disciplines you are most interested in. Building a good relationship with faculty in your chosen disciplines at this stage may help you to find insight into customizing your own program of study. Find mentors both on- and off-campus that can help you learn about career opportunities, research strategies, and planning your future.
As you are taking courses in your disciplines, take some time to get to know the faculty members that teach your courses. Getting to know the faculty well will be critical as you approach your job hunt or apply to graduate school—they can provide you referrals and letters of recommendation.
Learn about your teachers’ research interests, many faculty pursue research opportunities as a part of their work at UVU—getting involved with a research project in your disciplines can build experience and set you apart as a candidate for graduate school or a career. What starts as a collaboration between you and a faculty from your discipline may play an important role in your thesis project. Try to find opportunities to publish or present your work at UCUR, NCUR, or other major academic conferences.
In the first half of your senior year, you will take Capstone I. As a part of this class, you will be tasked with putting together your own team of mentors to help and advise you on your final project. This is when having a strong relationship with faculty from your previous classes will help you most. As you are putting together your team, think about how they will be able to help contribute to your research plan or project. Always be professional and polite when working with your mentors—they go above and beyond their responsibilities as faculty to help you with your capstone. By the end of your first capstone course, you will have finished a proposal and created your team.
In the second half of your senior year, you will work one-on-one with your chosen faculty mentors to complete your capstone project or thesis. Go to your mentors for feedback on a regular basis, and bring any questions or concerns you have to your thesis committee chair from Integrated Studies. This is a great time to ask for letters of recommendation. Giving faculty some time to work on your letters will help them to provide you with a good recommendation. They may also have good advice about your plans for a career or graduate school.
