Programs What is an appropriate way of asking a professor for a project?

[f3sicA_A]

I am an undergraduate Physics student who will just be going to his second year right now. Currently, my summer break is going on and I am interning under the guidance of an Astrophysics professor at a reputed (graduate-level) institute in my country, and I am working on an interesting project (albeit quite basic given how I'm just an undergrad). Even though my project is quite basic, I find it quite interesting and I was wondering if it would be appropriate to ask my mentor to continue guiding me through the means of projects after the duration of the internship.

To elaborate, my internship is 3 months long and what I was basically wondering was if it would be appropriate to ask my mentor, at the end of my internship, if I can continue pursuing projects under his guidance even after the duration of the internship. One possible challenge I see is the fact that the university I attend is quite far from where I am interning right now, so once my uni starts, if my mentor agrees to continue guiding me, it would only be possible via online means; however, I don't think that should be too much of a challenge because the format of the projects is such that my mentor gives me certain tasks (for instance, reading a few papers and then coming up with equations or code, etc.) and then adding my results to a LaTeX document (on a shared Overleaf document) where he goes through my progress and gives me further work. Therefore, I don't think that this should really be a barrier.

Now, I am wondering if it would be appropriate to ask my mentor for such guidance or am I expecting too much?

 

[DaveE]

I don't see any downside to asking. Just be straightforward and honest. Allow him a graceful way to decline, he may have other commitments and such. Some academics dislike teaching and mentoring because it takes time away from their own research, others love it with motivated students. You won't know without asking.

 

[symbolipoint]

I am an undergraduate Physics student who will just be going to his second year right now. Currently, my summer break is going on and I am interning under the guidance of an Astrophysics professor at a reputed (graduate-level) institute in my country, and I am working on an interesting project (albeit quite basic given how I'm just an undergrad). Even though my project is quite basic, I fin......

Have the faculty members at your current institution their own research interests and you share a small few of them at least? Does the program at the institution you currently attend include and promote (and EXPECT) the students to participate in research?

 

[f3sicA_A]

Have the faculty members at your current institution their own research interests and you share a small few of them at least?

The institution I study at is a Liberal Arts institution rather than a research or tech based institution; irrespective, the Physics faculty at my institution is highly reputed throughout my country (especially the senior professors). Some of the professors do not engage in research and purely enjoy teaching whereas some do engage in research and guide students, and of course, my interests do match with the work of my professors (especially Astronomy/Astrophysics, though I am interested in exploring all sorts of fields). The entire problem is that I am an inexperienced undergrad student and so I don't have much to base my credibility off of. Let's be entirely honest, any professor that even considers giving me a position in a project would do so as a favour.

Given this, I want to make the most out of any sort of guidance I receive; therefore, given an opportunity to work with a professor (although a different institution), I want to make the most out of this opportunity because I can't be too sure about receiving other kinds of opportunities.

Does the program at the institution you currently attend include and promote (and EXPECT) the students to participate in research?

I am guessing you're referring to the institution I am currently interning at? No, it is entirely up to the discretion of the professor. The professor I am currently working with, this is my second time working with him and I had worked with him in the winter before this. During the winter (my first ever internship), it was a very basic paper reading project; however, this time, over the summer, I have more time to work so he has given me a proper research project (again, nothing too fancy by any means, but still a big deal for an undergrad like me).

 

[f3sicA_A]

I don't see any downside to asking. Just be straightforward and honest. Allow him a graceful way to decline, he may have other commitments and such. Some academics dislike teaching and mentoring because it takes time away from their own research, others love it with motivated students. You won't know without asking.

Thank you for the advice! What I was unsure of for the most part was whether it would appropriate for an undergrad like me to expect a professor to guide me to this extent, especially given how busy professors are usually; however, I suppose going in with a blank mind not 'expecting' a particular result and accepting whatever I receive from my mentor is the most appropriate way of going about it!