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The Impact of an Undergraduate Research Program on Students’ Attitudes toward and Pursuit of Graduate Studies – A Follow-up Study

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Conference

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Columbus, Ohio

Publication Date

June 24, 2017

Start Date

June 24, 2017

End Date

June 28, 2017

Conference Session

Minorities in Engineering Division Technical Session 1

Tagged Division

Minorities in Engineering

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

9

DOI

10.18260/1-2--28975

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/28975

Download Count

412

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Paper Authors

biography

John D. Carpinelli New Jersey Institute of Technology

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Dr. John D. Carpinelli is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He has served as coordinator of activities at NJIT for the Gateway Engineering Education Coalition and as a member of the Coalition’s Governing Board. He previously chaired NJIT’s Excellence in Teaching Awards Committee and is Past Chair of the University Master Teacher Committee.

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biography

Angelo J. Perna New Jersey Institute of Technology

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Dr. Angelo J. Perna is professor of Chemical and Environmental Engineering and Director of the NJIT McNair Program A Fellow of ASEE and AICHE he is the co-author of over 100 publications and presentations. He has been the recipient of numerous awards on both a National and International level. In addition he has been recognized with the distinction of Master Teacher by NJIT.

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Linda S Hirsch New Jersey Institute of Technology

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LINDA S. HIRSCH is the Assistant Director for Research, Evaluation and Program Operations for the Center for Pre-College programs at New Jersey Institute of Technology. Dr. Hirsch has a degree in educational psychology with a specialty in Educational Statistics and Measurement from the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University. She has been involved in all aspects of educational and psychological research for over 20 years. Dr. Hirsch has extensive experience conducting longitudinal research studies and is proficient in database management, experimental design, instrument development, psychometrics and statistical programming.

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Abstract

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 __________ 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 surveys 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. Follow-up research with these students gauges the impact the McNair program has had on their careers.

Carpinelli, J. D., & Perna, A. J., & Hirsch, L. S. (2017, June), The Impact of an Undergraduate Research Program on Students’ Attitudes toward and Pursuit of Graduate Studies – A Follow-up Study Paper presented at 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Columbus, Ohio. 10.18260/1-2--28975

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