I’m asking this perfectly naively, with no agenda whatsoever other than my curiosity.
First, why is undergraduate research so important nowadays? Why do a ton of students want this during their undergraduate time and actually seek out schools which offer it (such as UA)? I want to know why so many students gravitate towards the CBH and Emerging Scholars programs at UA. What is it that appeals to these students? My own son has been involved in ug research for nearly 2 years now, but he didn’t ask for it - he was approached to do it, so I have no exposure to that type of kid who actively seeks out ug research ops.
Secondly, what are the benefits of doing these programs to an ug student beyond the obvious? I have no doubt that these programs boost a student’s resume in terms of the experience they have and it makes them more marketable…but do employers look for research experience from undergrads specifically, and do employers actually expect it? Which fields are the ones that employers expect students to have research experience? OR…is ug research solely being done in order to get a leg up on the next step in academia, such as grad school?
My questions are not only relevant to UA, but to the larger college scene, so apologies for posting here instead of somewhere else. I wanted to post here, because I am more comfortable with you kind and helpful UA readers than perhaps the larger forums where I don’t know specific people.
Thank you in advance for your views to these two questions.
The non-UA people will find your question anyway. :). Certainly it is more important for students going to grad school. Finding out if you even like research, building experience in it, maybe starting to build your CV and even get conference presentation or publication experience is all helpful in grad school admissions. It can also give some experience that helps a student refine their area of interest for grad school. I will add that not all students going to grad school, even for PhDs, are headed to academia. For example, try to get a physics position at Livermore Lab without a PhD…
Sometimes it can help with employment. One of my kids did summer CS research on magnetic storage efficiency. It helped her wrangle a couple interviews with Silicon Valley companies in the data storage field.
Employers are looking for something extra in a resume, other than your GPA. Internships and co-ops are great. UG research also has some value, as it provides work history, and an opportunities to learn new skills (outside of the class room). An interviewer may spend much of their time asking about the design club and less about the courses you’ve taken.
With all that being said a recent survey done by Purdue (with Gallup) shows that only about 1/3 of students end up doing an internship/co-op. You can get by without one, but if that’s the case, you really need to find other ways to differentiate yourself, such as UG research, design teams, leadership roles in clubs, etc.
Of course, the % that compete internships or co-ops vary by school. At some schools a co-op is required.
At MIT (not your typical engineering school):
Another comparison point, based on UF’s graduation surveys (which ask if a graduating student completed an internship/co-op while at UF), 46% did not, but this drops down to 33% in the college of engineering. So, about 67% of engineers that completed the survey, had at least one internship while at UF.
@aeromom funny you bring this up now, the CBH admissions essay is basically asking the same question. Our son’s response was he just loves to discover new things. He was so disappointed in High School, he had visions of doing something amazing, and even in AP courses, it was just another class. He basically did his own research project on the side. He is only 17, and has no idea what he wants to do, so research sounds interesting as a future, but I don’t think this factors into his desire to do research right now. I think some kids are just wired that way. Hopefully he will have CBH as an option, fingers crossed!
I can tell you that the only reason ug research is so important to my son is because it sounds super interesting. Although he would prefer to do ug research in any engineering, he would also enjoy any science research. So in short, to learn and for fun. I don’t think he has read about a single research project that he wouldn’t like to participate in.
I am not sure “fun” is an actual descriptor for UG research. Interesting and hard work are more likely descriptors from my sons’ experiences. Help setting up lab equipment, recording data, writing computer programs for data crunching, working with a professor to understand the project, etc are their real life experiences.
My kids have learned huge amts in their UG research experiences. Depending on the child and the projects, they have studied everything from impacts of environment on concrete, to graphene, radon, and neutrinos. One of the advantages to participating in UG research earlier on is that you have more time to become familiar with the project, develop the appropriate skills, and increase your ability to function at a higher level within the project.
FWIW, coding has been a huge part of my ds’s UG research at UA. He has had to master several different languages.
Another FWIW, I am not sure it is “nowadays.” My dh participated in UG research way back when. My oldest ds graduated from high school in 2007 and it was vital to him. Both dh and that ds are chemEs. Youngest ds wants to pursue a phD in physics. UG research is extremely important to him and his career goals. (UG research, in addition to coursework, really helps students explore various fields within their desired objectives in order to research grad schools accordingly.)
@justonedad My sons might agree with you. To me it sounds like a lot of work. My ds might spend 10 hrs just in one day programming for his research project. He probably spends more time on research than anything else he does. But, he equally loves it and revolved his class schedule and number of credit hours around having enough time to spend time on it. Fun just evokes a different image in my mind.
@gator88ne - next time the discussion turns to how UA students find their internships, be sure to repost that statistic of only 19% of MIT students get theirs through job fairs.
My older son was in CBH while at Bama, and he did research for two professors. He spent three years working with one econ professor, and it definitely paid off when he got to UVA Law. Last spring, he went to see a tax law professor about an assistantship. The professor asked my son about his research experience, and my son detailed what he had done. Not only did he land a paying assistantship for the summer, but he continues to work with this professor.
@beadymom >>> @gator88ne - next time the discussion turns to how UA students find their internships, be sure to repost that statistic of only 19% of MIT students get theirs through job fairs.<<<
That is sooooo true.
I’m tired of people assuming that the so-called best univs “place” their grads into fab jobs.
Our friends’ Columbia Engineering son was unemployed for over 2 years post graduation. They had assumed that sending him there, rather than UCLA or some NMF school, was a guarantee to a waltz into a top job.
My daughter is a senior and is in her third year of doing research (CBH). She worked one year with one prof, and will ultimately work two years with another. I don’t think doing undergraduate research is critical for her - she’s not in the sciences, she’s not planning on grad school and she doesn’t want a research career - but I think it has pushed her outside of her comfort zone, given her presentation experience, improved her time management skills and enabled a closer relationship with a couple professors.
It’s ultimately a resume boosting thing. Yeah, some of it is cool, but kids do it for the most part because they think it can get them into grad school
^^^ No @Mandalorian, you couldn’t be more wrong. It is not “ultimately a resume boosting” thing. The students who do research dedicate much time and hard work to this enterprise. There are much easier ways to add a line on your resume. When a student spends countless hours in a lab, prepares for presentations, creates posters and writes research papers, they are not doing fluff work. They are adding to their skills and developing their educational prowess.
My daughter is a freshman at her university and has a part-time job researching in a lab and also a research scholarship to conduct a study on her own. She also did significant research during high school – both her own long-term project and a summer internship in a lab and projects for science fairs. She plans to get a PhD and do research as her career. A lot of students who do research do it because it is a passion.
Regarding which subjects are most suited for research… I can’t think of a single field of study that does not have significant research opportunities that translate into job skills. Aside from the obvious areas of scientific research there is marketing research, economics research, political science research, historical research, psychological research, sociological research, archaeological research, legal research, etc. Students who enjoy researching in their areas of interest are engaged in the subject and eager to know the cutting edge topics being explored, and also find answers to their own questions and pick up skills.
You can take any activity --whether involving research, volunteering, competitions, clubs or sports – and “pad” a resume with it if you’re just going through the motions, but for every activity there are people who are doing it because they care deeply about it, and recognize that it can shape who they are and potentially benefit others as well, and bring them a lifetime of rewards as they build on those skills and knowledge, and make connections with like-minded people.
My kid has also gotten experience preparing her team’s research results for presentations – they are presenting at a conference next month. She is also working with her prof on a paper about their results. So she is building communications skills, too.
To me it sounds like a lot of work. My ds might spend 10 hrs just in one day programming for his research project. He probably spends more time on research than anything else he does. But, he equally loves it and revolved his class schedule and number of credit hours around having enough time to spend time on it. Fun just evokes a different image in my mind.