Predicting undergraduate career goal change in a research‐intensive community

Abstract

AbstractProviding infrastructure to support student‐led research teams at research‐extensive universities has been an effective way of dramatically increasing the number of research opportunities available to all undergraduates. While cocurricular, team‐based programs are able to scale‐up and sustain undergraduate research, their ability to promote participation in the STEM research workforce has not been firmly established. The present work has therefore aimed to characterize the types of undergraduates who get involved in these programs and the team structures that predict their decision to pursue a research‐oriented career. Surveys were used to collect data on undergraduates' vocational identity beliefs, team leader qualities, and the time spent doing research with a faculty‐mentor and other team members. Cluster analysis of survey data (n = 407) revealed that those with relatively high levels of career exploration formed a majority of participants in this community. Logistic modeling predicted that these undergraduates are more likely than others to pursue research careers after a semester of team‐based research. Cross‐discipline interactions between team members and team leaders also predicted career goal change. For Hispanic students, participating in student‐led, faculty‐mentored research teams had mixed effects. When spending 4 h/week or more working with others team members, Hispanic team members were found to be more likely than non‐Hispanic students to pursue a research career. Hispanic students, however, were less likely to report career goal changes when working with faculty mentors who were mainly non‐Hispanic. Implications for designing undergraduate research programs to amplify and diversify the STEM workforce are also discussed.