The impact of an Undergraduate research Program on students' attitudes toward and pursuit of graduate studies - A follow-up study

Undergraduate research experiences have been shown to have a positive impact on students' attitudes toward graduate studies, as demonstrated by results from pre- and post-research experience surveys. Results have shown that students gained confidence in their research abilities and increased their interest in continuing their education at the graduate level. However, there has been relatively little long-term follow-up with undergraduate research students to see if they actually did pursue graduate studies. The current paper examines three cohorts of students who participated in the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program at the New Jersey Institute of Technology during the summers of 2010, 2011, and 2012. Students completed a ten-week research experience during the summer between their sophomore and junior years, and continued their research during their junior and senior years. Students' responses to the Attitudes toward Graduate Studies Survey administered before and after their respective summer research experience are compared to actual enrollments in graduate programs to determine whether the increased interest in pursuing graduate studies persisted and translated into increased graduate enrollments.