Meghna Mukherjee on Social Sciences Research Pathways

I was a mentor with NavCal, an organization that supports under-represented undergraduate students navigate UC Berkeley and build community. During a virtual gathering, NavCal students expressed they were interested in gaining research experience but had struggled to land positions. When asking them more about where they had applied and the feedback they were given, I learned many had been repeatedly denied or neglected from existing undergraduate research opportunities because they did not have prior experience or close relationships with faculty conducting research. It surprised me that programs would expect undergraduates to already have research experience. I also recognized that several of these students faced additional hurdles when it came to approaching faculty members. The NavCal leaders Mac Hoang and Dean Tanioka were instrumental in explaining that this was a systemic issue their students faced and encouraged me to think about how we could create more equitable research opportunities. 

After that discussion, I committed to taking on a few students to support my dissertation research. I was in the early stages of designing my project and could certainly use the help. Thinking bigger, I also contacted a few colleagues, all of whom immediately jumped at the idea of mentoring undergraduate students who in turn would support their research projects. As graduate students we could not only use the experience of leading a research team, but in being more approachable to undergraduate students we could offer them valuable professional and personal mentorship too. It seemed like developing program grounded in a research and mentorship exchange would be mutually beneficial.

At that point, we had the makings of SSRP. I relied on my background in non-profit program development and collaborated with NavCal leaders to design a program focused on equity. It was very important to us that this program offer stipends for both mentees and mentors, given how common unpaid work can be in academic settings. We were immensely grateful that the IRLE decided to support our ideas and values, offer funding, and provide the operational structure to house and sustain this program. 

Gaining hands-on research experience in a team setting can teach undergraduates a range of skills and values that will be applicable no matter what career direction they choose to take. Students can build important work ethics around accountability and collaboration, allowing them to become more confident in both sharing their perspectives and incorporating that of other team members. They also develop tangible skills around research methods, critical thinking, and analysis, all of which apply to almost any job they might be considering in the future. Further, because graduate students are working on various topics and often taking new approaches to their research, undergraduates have the opportunity to learn about issues in a way they may not have previously considered. SSRP also encourages undergraduate researchers to produce a deliverable at the end of the year, which is a concrete product that students can refer to when they move onto future research or work opportunities. Overall, having the program partly focus on research ensures that undergraduates gain professional credentials that can be beneficial and translatable into whichever career path they choose to take.    

Mentorship – the other aspect of this program – is also critical for undergraduate students. Personally, I know having reliable mentors is a big reason why I was able to get my first job after college and later pursue graduate school. The mentorship that our graduate students offer the undergraduates really enables professional and personal development. Most importantly, these mentorship relationships help build social capital that is integral to academic and career success but is so often left in the background. Working alongside graduate students, undergraduates often find a sense of relatability and familiarity, and can ask the questions they might be nervous or hesitant to pose to faculty. Graduate mentors also become a part of undergraduate students’ support network, ensuring that these students have a place to turn for advice or compassion during the ups and downs of college. So, while SSRP is positioned as a research program, it offers a much richer experience that hopefully stays with students long after they have finished their research roles.

One of the main things I learned was how to manage and train a research team. It was actually helpful that my mentees did not have research experience or backgrounds in my particular research area because it meant that I had to develop ways to teach them about the issues and explain why my methods and analytical approaches made sense. That process gave me more clarity about my project and pushed me to be more intentional about each research decision. Training my mentees in various research methods and analytical tools was also worthwhile, as it pushed me to translate how I might have taught these subjects in a course to a more hands-on, applied setting. Overall, the experience of being an SSRP graduate mentor is valuable for doctoral students, especially those hoping to eventually run research labs or transition into faculty positions. 

I also benefited greatly from being able to incorporate my mentees’ perspectives into my research. The undergraduate students I worked with – Natalie Rivas, Karen Tirado, and Elizabeth Brown – all raised interesting and critical ideas when interpreting the project data. I thoroughly enjoyed our discussions about what they picked up in my interview transcripts or fieldnotes, as they revealed insights or points of view I might not have considered. Having their input has certainly made my analysis fuller and more multi-dimensional. SSRP is fortunate to have such a brilliant group of undergraduates who apply each year. 

Finally, perhaps the biggest highlight of being a mentor with SSRP is the joy that comes with getting to know the wonderful undergraduate mentees we get to work with and supporting them in their journey through UC Berkeley. My mentees are incredible, empathetic, and ambitious individuals. They have been so willing to take on new challenges, and I have loved learning about them and their stories on a personal level. It is a real privilege to have these students share their hopes and goals with you and knowing that you can play even a small part in helping them realize those objectives is very fulfilling. My mentees know I am always here for them and I am so excited to see what they are going to do in this world.

It would be great to incorporate more graduate mentors from disciplines beyond sociology, so we can offer targeted research opportunities to undergraduates interested in various fields. This would be useful for undergraduates’ professional development overall, as they could explore various fields through research and receive mentorship from graduate students with different professional backgrounds and perspectives. Allowing undergraduates this ‘testing ground’ through research and mentorship can give them more optionality and clarity in the direction they eventually choose to pursue. 

I would also be excited to see more resources for undergraduate research development, like a partnership with the D-Lab, which offers excellent workshops on various research methods and tools. Being able to offer undergraduates these specific training opportunities where they can get more robust skill-building in computational methods, analytical tools, and various programming software would not only benefit mentees but would also allow them to participate in more aspects of graduate students’ projects. Undergraduate research development would also support graduate students’ mentorship approach, as such workshops and modules could supplement and reinforce the training we do with our mentees. 

Finally, I hope that SSRP can find more ways to foster community-building and collaboration. We could host events for mentees and mentors to connect throughout the year, as well as a final symposium for mentees to present their projects and learn about the other research teams. This was something we discussed when SSRP was founded, but we weren’t able to do it at the time due to the pandemic. I would also love to see SSRP flourish into a more collective and sustaining research space. For example, the program might be able to provide structure for research teams to develop into more stable ‘labs’ that include new and continuing mentors and mentees. We could also encourage more connections between research teams working on overlapping topics, which would enrich students’ research impact, professional opportunities, and overall experience at UC Berkeley. 

While I think it is important to consider how a program can develop, I also believe it is very important to uphold the values that we started with. For SSRP, I think that means continuing to focus on extending equitable research opportunities and mentorship to undergraduate students. More than anything, I would want the program to maintain its commitment to taking on undergraduates, prioritizing those from underserved backgrounds who don’t have research experience.

I am so fortunate that Mac and Dean from NavCal pushed me to develop an equitable research solution, and very grateful that Lori Ospina and the IRLE team were open to our ideas. In SSRP’s first year, I remember receiving overwhelming interest from undergraduate students and recruiting my graduate student colleagues via emails and texts to take on a few mentees. I organized every match manually on a Google Sheet (which would be impossible to do now given how the program has grown!). Since then, it has been incredible to watch SSRP continue to receive so much interest from both undergraduate and graduate students, and especially see it become a staple resource within the Sociology doctoral program. Starting this program was also important for me personally; it made me realize that with the right support I can bring ideas to life. Without a doubt, SSRP remains the thing I am most proud of during my time at UC Berkeley.