The STEM Pipeline: The Role of Summer Research Experience in Minority Students' Graduate Aspirations

Abstract

Practical research experience has been seen as an important tool to enhance learning in STEM fields and shape commitment to science careers. Indeed, this was a prominent recommendation of the Boyer Commission. Further, there is evidence this is especially important for minority students. In this paper, we examine the role of practical research experience during the summer for talented minority undergraduates in STEM fields. We focus on the link between summer research and STEM Ph.D. program matriculation. We examine evidence on this question using detailed data on students participating in the Meyerhoff Scholarship Program over a 14 year period at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Our results provide evidence of strong positive effects of summer research on participation in STEM Ph.D. programs. Further, we show that the effects of summer research vary with the frequency and timing of these experiences. The evidence that educational strategies such as summer research experiences improve academic outcomes of minorities is vital, given concern about the science pipeline in the U.S. and the continuing growth in the racial/ethnic diversity of the college-age population.

Sustaining optimal motivation: A longitudinal analysis of interventions to broaden participation of underrepresented students in STEM.

“…In general, cross-sectional and longitudinal evaluations of these programs indicate that they are successful in supporting underrepresented students' interest and pursuit of STEM degrees and careers (Estrada, Woodcock, Hernandez, & Schultz, 2011; Maton & Hrabowski, 2004; Maton, Sto Domingo, Stolle-McAllister, Zimmerman, & Hrabowski, 2009; Myers & Pavel, 2011; Pender, Marcotte, Sto Domingo, & Maton, 2010; Schultz et al, 2011). Research has found that mentoring has a positive effect on sustaining interest in the sciences (Haring, 1999; Pfund, Pribbenow, Branchaw, Lauffer, & Handelsman, 2006).…”

Diversity in the Biomedical Research Workforce: Developing Talent

“…Changing this disparity will require radical improvements in science and mathematics education as well as general academic skills across the K-12 education system. Efforts are being made to move toward positive change, including specific K-12 efforts aimed at diversity and special research programs for high school students [14],[15]. However, such change in K-12 education will at best be too slow to impact the workforce for decades.…”

Increasing the pipeline and diversity of doctorally prepared nurses: Description and preliminary evaluation of a health disparities summer research program

“…The importance of developing a research identity in promoting the pursuit of a PhD has been described in other science disciplines (Carlone & Johnson, 2007). Undergraduate summer research experiences also appear to change both the intention and enrollment into PhD programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines (Eagan et al, 2013; Gould & Macpherson, 2003; Pender, Marcotte, Sto Domingo, & Maton, 2010). Despite the promise of summer research experiences, there is a paucity of literature describing how these programs have been implemented in nursing.…”