CRED Student Support
CRED empowers undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Arizona to explore evaluation as a meaningful and impactful career. We introduce our students to real-world projects that highlight the value of evaluation within human services fields while teaching practical social science research and general career-readiness skills.
How we engage with students
We support students through a structured approach that helps them grow professionally while connecting with community partners and contributing to real evaluation projects. The student experience includes:
Structured Onboarding
Students learn about CRED and the projects they’ll be working on, along with research ethics and core evaluation principles. They are also introduced to team expectations, workflows, and key tools to support their success.
Weekly Virtual Lab Meetings
Students and staff connect weekly for team check-ins, shared learning, and professional development. These meetings also provide a space to discuss progress, address challenges, and strengthen collaboration across the team.
Project-Based Supervision
In addition to weekly meetings, students receive tailored guidance from different CRED team members about their project contributions. They may also participate in project-based meetings within CRED and with external partners.
End-Of-Semester Celebration
At the end of each semester, students share what they’ve learned and accomplished, reflect on their growth, and prepare to articulate these experiences in job or graduate school applications.
Students work alongside faculty and research teams in paid hourly positions that provide hands-on experience in research, community engagement, data collection, and project coordination while building professional skills in a collaborative environment.
Students earn academic credit through independent study, guided research, or internship experiences that allow them to apply classroom learning to real-world research and community-based projects.
Graduate students engage in advanced research assistantships and internship placements that support scholarly development, mentorship, professional growth, and applied research experience.
Immersive summer opportunities, including programs such as UROC and Arizona Student’s Journey, introduce students to research through mentorship, skill-building, and collaborative learning experiences.
What our students say about their experience
We engage both undergraduate and graduate students in meaningful, hands-on roles. Our student team reflects a diverse range of identities and lived experiences, including representation across multiple gender identities, racial and ethnic backgrounds, and multinational and first-generation college students. In anonymous surveys, CRED alumni consistently report that their experience...
Read more about our students’ self-reported experiences by clicking the button below!
CRED Research Assistants (team members pictured left to right) : Dora Valencia, April Horne, Lauren Moxley, Felicia Zhang, Claudia Vega
Feeling Valued: A Student Reflection on CRED
Where to begin… there are so many things! If I had to choose, I think the trust and encouragement I was given was the most meaningful part of my experience. I felt that even the small parts of my work were valued, acknowledged, and broadly meaningful… I knew they cared about me and wanted the best for my future.
- CRED Student Alum
Check out this CALES news story about CRED's work with students!
Interested in Working with CRED?
Undergraduate and Graduate students who are interested in working with the CRED team are encouraged to get in touch!