February 19, 2025

ForagerOne platform now open to connect students, faculty for research and mentoring opportunities

A Wayne State professor works with a student in an engineering research lab.

To make undergraduate research more accessible, Wayne State University’s Office of Partnerships and Workforce has launched ForagerOne, a new web platform for the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP). All undergraduate students and faculty are encouraged to create a ForagerOne profile, and students can apply for UROP funding through March 7.

ForagerOne helps students discover and connect with faculty whose interests align with their own, paving the way for integrative learning opportunities and making undergraduate research more accessible.

Undergraduate student Finnley Culhane participated in UROP with faculty mentor Dr. Karen Marrero, and will present her research on Indigenous reconciliation efforts at the National Council on Undergraduate Research conference in April.

“Wayne State is committed to creating more career-engaged opportunities for students across disciplines,” said Laurie M. Lauzon Clabo, Ph.D., provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “As a top-tier research university, we are proud of the opportunities we provide to our students to work closely with faculty, conduct research and develop career-based skills through these experiences.”

ForagerOne allows students to create a profile and search for faculty. Using the tools available, students can bookmark faculty profiles and apply to projects with the example text provided for outreach. General tips and advice in the composition tool make it easy to reach out to faculty, taking the pressure off students who are hesitant about cold outreach. Because ForagerOne makes it easy to connect, this is also a great opportunity for faculty to review potential mentees and meet students with whom they may not have normally worked.

“Creating more access to career-engaged learning is critical to student success,” said Christine Jackson, Ph.D., vice provost for partnerships and workforce. “Research can take shape in a variety of ways, and ForagerOne helps more students across disciplines access this career-building opportunity and pursue the interests that speak to them.”

Undergraduate student Mark Grove monitors and motivates a research participant as part of his UROP project focused on hand grip strength led by faculty mentor Dr. Tamara Hew-Butler.

Through these research opportunities, students gain unique hands-on experience with faculty who are at the forefront of their fields. These research opportunities are a critical part of the College to Career experiences Wayne State provides for students to gain lifelong skills that support their future careers, such as learning how to build and maintain a relationship with a mentor.

Over the years, UROP projects have taken a variety of shapes and forms. While students have the opportunity to conduct what many think of as traditional research in a lab with beakers and petri dishes, they can also conduct research in any field that interests them, including hard sciences, social sciences, performing arts and humanities.

Some examples of past UROP projects include studying why the lottery is popular during economic crises, exploring the effects of air pollution on the mental health on Detroit’s adolescents, the link between caregivers’ emotional regulation and adolescent trauma, hand grip strength, and the historical roots of jazz and blues music, to name a few.

Students and faculty can learn more about ForagerOne and get started:

Students: Create a profile on ForagerOne and begin exploring potential faculty mentors. Learn more about the UROP application, which closes on March 7.
Faculty: Claim their profile and begin posting research projects. To find the best matches, faculty can indicate if a project is paid, volunteer, for academic credit, or available to undergraduates, graduate students, or medical residents.