The Destination Ohio State University (DOSU) program pairs incoming and prospective undergraduate transfer students from Columbus State Community College with postdoctoral scholars* at Ohio State who are participating in the Researcher, Mentor, Teacher (RMT) program.
The application portal for the 2024-2025 academic year will open later this spring. Check back in early May!
Benefits for DOSU Students
- Gaining hands-on research experience through work at a lab at Ohio State
- Exploration of future career and graduate school options
- Mentorship of a promising researcher
- Jumpstarting a professional network
- Smoother transition to life at Ohio State
“I am very happy with this research experience overall because it gave be a head start in research as an OSU transfer student. It also helped me make more connections on campus that could help me later on. Because of this research experience I now know what being a researcher is and that I would like to further my research experience.” – DOSU Student
How it Works
- DOSU Information Session
In the Spring semester, interested students are invited to attend an info session at Ohio State and CSCC (usually in March or April) for the upcoming academic year’s program. - Application
Interested Ohio State and CSCC students then submit an application to the program. This includes a resume, personal statement, and prospective schedules for the next academic year. - Research Information Session
Later in Spring semester, students and postdoctoral researchers meet at a Research Information Session, where postdoctoral researchers give 5-minute presentations introducing their research. Students then have a chance to introduce themselves to researchers whose work they find interesting. - Shadowviews
To inform the matching process, postdoctoral researchers invite students who are interested in working with them to do a “shadowview” – shadowing + interview experience. During these two-hour sessions, postdocs talk about the day-to-day in their lab, what a student’s role in research would be, and their work and management style. Students also have a chance to ask questions! - Matching
After both postdoctoral researchers and students give feedback about their shadowview experiences, matching results are released. These matches are based on a mix of student and postdoc input. - Lab Work and Mentoring Experience
During the school year, matched students begin working in research groups under the mentorship of their postdoctoral mentor. In addition to helping students learn about work in the lab, mentors help with things such as time management, professional communication, and research careers. - Official Program End
At the end of the academic year, the official mentorship period comes to a close. This does not, however, mean that students cannot continue! If a postdoctoral mentor remains at Ohio State, their lab still has funds to support the student worker, the student has availability, and the work arrangement was a good fit, students may have the opportunity to stay on in the lab. These arrangements must be made with the student, postdoctoral mentor, PI (principal investigator), and department.
*A postdoctoral researcher/postdoctoral scholar is a researcher who has finished their doctorate (usually a PhD), and who is engaged in a temporary period of additional research training. Ohio State has over 600 postdoctoral researcher (sometimes called ‘postdocs’), the majority of whom are in STEMM fields.
Information for participating postdoctoral scholars
Please find instructions for participating DOSU Students here.