Graduate School Preparation Research Articles

Creating an Undergraduate Research Program in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (Oto-HNS) for Students Underrepresented in Medicine.

To report implementation and outcomes associated with a novel paid Summer Undergraduate Research Education Program (SREP) over the first 2years in an academic otolaryngology program recruiting students underrepresented in medicine (URiM). A 10-week program including a research bootcamp, curriculum, mentoring, and clinical shadowing was created. Grant funding to provide salary and support for transportation, conference attendance, and graduate school preparation or applications was procured. Primary objectives included (1) development of successful mentorship relationships; (2) increasing student-reported outcomes using pre- and post-program surveys to assess confidence, career planning, and overall satisfaction; (3) increasing exposure to medicine; (4) completion of an oral presentation; and (5) submission of a manuscript. Secondary objectives included abstract submission and completion of a graduate exam course or graduate school applications. Tertiary objectives included conference attendance and graduate school matriculation. One hundred thirty-five total applications were reviewed (89 from year 1 and 46 from year 2). Twelve students were interviewed for 3 spots in year 1, while 11 students were interviewed for 6 spots in year 2 (median application score, 9.25 (range, 1-14); median interview score, 8.7 (range, 5.4-10); acceptance rate, 6.7% (9/135)). Students met all primary objectives. Mean program survey scores increased from 3.8 to 4.77 (p < 0.0001). Eight of nine students submitted an abstract to a national conference, with five of eight students accepted for a presentation. Two students were accepted into graduate school, while five others are on track for graduate school application. Identifying mentors, curriculum, and opportunities to meaningfully strengthen graduate school applications for URiM students through a clinically rigorous, financially supported, and research-focused summer program in an academic otolaryngology program is feasible and may be an effective means of increasing diversity in medicine and otolaryngology. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-024-02021-z.

Emerging Areas in Undergraduate Analytical Chemistry Education: Microfluidics, Microcontrollers, and Chemometrics.

Analytical chemistry is a fast-paced field with frequent introduction of new techniques via research labs; however, incorporation of new techniques into academic curricula lags their adoption in research and industry. This review describes the recent educational literature on microfluidics, microcontrollers, and chemometrics in the undergraduate analytical chemistry curriculum. Each section highlights opportunities for nonexpert faculty to get started with these techniques and more advanced implementations suitable for experienced practitioners. While the addition of new topics to any curriculum brings some opportunity costs, student engagement with cutting edge techniques brings many benefits, including enhanced preparation for graduate school and professional careers and development of transferable skills, such as coding. Formal assessment of student outcomes is encouraged to promote broader adoption of these techniques.

Pathways and barriers to Human Development and Family Science student engagement in undergraduate research

The value of high-impact practices in undergraduate higher education is well documented. However, very little is known about high-impact practices in Human Development and Family Science (HDFS) programs. The goal of this study was to explore one specific high-impact practice: undergraduate research. Specifically, our study explored the benefits and barriers of undergraduate research for HDFS students as well as the pathways HDFS students use to become involved in undergraduate research. College student identity theory served as a guide for our inquiry. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 undergraduate HDFS students, 13 of whom had participated in undergraduate research and 9 who had not. Results revealed three pathways students took to participate in undergraduate research: interest in a specific research topic, connection with the researcher, and preparation for graduate school. Enhanced learning, professional skills, personal growth, and relationships with others were identified as benefits of participation in undergraduate research. Barriers to participation in research included time, lack of awareness, and feelings of fear or intimidation. Specific processes for students and faculty to overcome these barriers are suggested. It is recommended that HDFS faculty and administrators provide multiple pathways and supports for undergraduate students to become involved in research.

Implementation of a Post-Baccalaureate Program at a Pediatric Academic Medical Center: A Pathway to Graduate School.

Post-baccalaureate programs are increasingly common and have demonstrated success in preparing students for graduate programs. Most post-baccalaureate programs have a pre-medical focus, and the few existing clinical psychology-focused programs are centered on coursework, situated within a university, costly to students, and/or geared towards career change. The post-baccalaureate program at Nationwide Children's Hospital was created in 2017 and is uniquely positioned within a pediatric academic medical center. The program provides research skill training, mentorship, professional development, and graduate school preparation to employed clinical research coordinators. An early program assessment, based on self-reports, revealed the program attracts diverse participants that are primarily interested in pediatric or child psychology and rate themselves as "somewhat confident" in their current research skills. This manuscript summarizes the three phases of development and key components of the post-baccalaureate program, which can serve as a model to other medical centers interested in developing training programs for research staff, particularly underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities, and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Capstone Experience Purposes

Capstone experiences (CEs) serve a variety of purposes in higher education as opportunities to apply academic skills, explore post-graduate life and employment, and achieve a meaningful undergraduate event. This study investigated the purposes of CEs through a content analysis of institutional course syllabi/course outlines/module outlines and catalog/calendar descriptions at five institutions of higher education: a large public research university in Canada, a large public teaching university in the United Kingdom (UK), a college of a large public research university in the United States (US), and two medium-sized private liberal arts universities in the US. Using the CE purposes found in a review of scholarly literature as a research guide, the authors analyzed 84 institutional documents. CE purposes that appeared in the sample at lower percentages when compared with published studies included oral communication, a coherent academic experience, preparation for graduate school, preparation for life after college, and civic engagement/service learning. Implications for practice include the need for instructors and administrators to consider revising CE documents to better reflect the content and goals of the courses and to address the requirements of other audiences (e.g., program reviewers, accreditation evaluators). Moreover, the results of this study may assist educators in considering reasons for omitting explicit purposes from CE documents and/or justifying the inclusion of previously omitted purposes.

A look into HSTA student success initiatives directed at increasing college persistence and success among at-risk students.

Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA) is a network of after-school STEM clubs for 9th-12th graders in West Virginia (WV). This program encourages underrepresented students to pursue undergraduate and graduate college degrees, thus increasing the number of health practitioners and advocates in the underserved communities of rural WV. HSTA is a four-year college pipeline program for high school students who are selected to participate based on program criteria. Many HSTA students experience at-risk factors that impact college persistence and success, such as minority background, financially disadvantaged family, and/or first-generation college student. HSTA’s curriculum consists of seven core elements: reward, recreation, relationships, research, relevance, rigor, and repetition that are delivered in an after-school club environment, through community-based research studies, and during summer camp immersion experiences. Data will show this influences student success at the high school and college level. For example, the HSTA curriculum plays a key role in retaining HSTA students. Another program initiative is the in-state college waiver awarded to students who complete the program. Initiatives continue through college, such as campus-based alumni associations with focuses on high school mentoring and providing peer to peer mentoring for each other. In addition, our sister program Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP) provides an incoming college freshmen experience as well as a graduate school preparation program. Results and discussion can provide ideas and resources to other pipeline and collegiate programs seeking to increase college persistence and success among at-risk students.

Joseph BrodskySelected Poems, 1968–1996Joseph BrodskyLess Than OneJoseph BrodskyOn Grief and Reason

ostensibly referring to his lack of preparation for graduate school, for Wallace, it is a code for his lack of whiteness. Over the course of the weekend, Wallace begins a sexual liaison with his friend Miller, who insists that he is straight but is equally attracted to Wallace. In the course of their intimacy both Wallace and Miller reveal their traumatic pasts: Wallace’s early experience of sexual molestation, the deep-seated homophobia and abandonment by his parents , and Miller’s history of violent rage. The novel ends with profound uncertainty for Wallace and his future. The last chapter is a throwback to the innocent optimism of his early days in Madison, a day spent sailing on the lake and gathering by a bonfire to toast to their new life. For Wallace, the allure of this life of the mind and a place to fashion his own identity is still haunting. There are moments of genuine community, as with Wallace’s friendship with Brigit, but on the whole Taylor portrays the continuing marginality of Black queer lives in institutions of academic prestige. Lopamudra Basu University of Wisconsin–Stout Ayfer Tunç The Highly Unreliable Account of the History of a Madhouse Trans. Feyza Howell. London. Istros Books. 2020. 372 pages. IMAGINE A LARGE building facing the rough waters of the Black Sea: a mental health hospital. Now imagine that same large building not quite facing the rough waters of the Black Sea, because there are no windows on the side that overlooks the actual sea. Such absurdity, which is very much reminiscent of the mentality humorously related to that particular region in Turkey, is key to the narrative of The Highly Unreliable Account of the History of a Madhouse . With its back turned to the Black Sea, “evok[ing] an immediate and inexplicable sense of resentment,” this mental hospital in northern Turkey is the starting point of “the highly unreliable,” quite enjoyable, and rhythmically fast-paced account of the country. As the threads of the narrative weave in and out and stitch the stories of its many characters together, the omniscient narrator’s gaze travels through various cities and towns and moves back and forth in time. Yet it always comes back to the madhouse only to set out again on another narrative tangent. The Highly Unreliable Account of the History of a Madhouse represents the “human landscapes” of Ayfer Tunç’s Turkey, not quite the romantic epic that Nâzım Hikmet’s magnum opus is, but in style and tone, very much fitting her milieu and zeitgeist the way Hikmet’s did his own era. The novel opens on Valentine’s Day with the introduction of the first character, Ülkü Birinci, “an associate professor of psychology at an undistinguished private Istanbul university,” about to give a lecture entitled “Love: Self-sacrifice or Self-preservation?” at the hospital’s conference hall. While this opening is suggestive of a campus-novel storyline, it soon becomes clear that the narrative not only crosses time and space Books in Review JOSEPH BRODSKY Joseph Brodsky Selected Poems, 1968–1996 New York. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2020. 174 pages. Less Than One New York. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2020 (©1986). 501 pages. On Grief and Reason New York. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2020 (©1995). 484 pages. THE REISSUE THIS YEAR of a number of Joseph Brodsky’s works, to coincide with what would have been his eightieth birthday, could not have come at a more critical time. Before Brodsky’s arrival in the United States in 1972, the poet had passed through many of the shadowy depths that the twentieth century had to offer: wartime evacuation from Leningrad under the siege; arrests and forced “treatments” in Russian psychiatric wards; surveillance and harassment by the KGB; and transport in a prison train (the infamous Stolypin boxcar) on his way to internal exile after a trial based on trumped-up charges for “parasitism.” Due to the courageous efforts of friends, such as the journalist Frida Vigdorova, who compiled a transcript of his trial proceedings that was circulated abroad, his case became known in the West, which facilitated his release from internal exile and, six years later, his...

Speech-Language Pathologists' Perceptions of Their Preparation and Confidence for Providing Dysphagia Services

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) regarding their academic preparation and current confidence levels for providing dysphagia services, and the relationship between their perceptions of graduate school preparation and their current levels of confidence. Method This study utilized an online survey to gather information from 374 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association–certified SLPs who currently provide dysphagia services in the United States. Surveys were primarily distributed through American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Special Interest Group forums and Facebook groups. The anonymous survey gathered information regarding SLPs' perceptions of academic preparation and current confidence levels for providing dysphagia services in 11 knowledge and skill areas. Results Findings indicated that more than half of respondents did not feel prepared following their graduate academic training in five of the 11 knowledge and skill areas related to dysphagia service delivery. However, about half of respondents indicated they were currently confident about their ability to provide services in eight of the 11 knowledge and skill areas. Findings also indicated that their current confidence levels to provide dysphagia services were significantly higher than their perceptions of preparation immediately following graduate school. However, no significant relationships were found between respondents' self-reported current confidence levels and their perceptions of the adequacy of their academic preparation. Conclusions Despite SLPs' low perceptions of the adequacy of their graduate preparation for providing dysphagia services in specific knowledge and skill areas immediately following graduation, they reported high confidence levels with respect to their actual service delivery. Implications of these findings are discussed.

A look into HSTA student success initiatives directed at increasing college persistence and success among at-risk students.

Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA) is a network of after-school STEM clubs for 9th-12th graders in West Virginia (WV). This program encourages underrepresented students to pursue undergraduate and graduate college degrees, thus increasing the number of health practitioners and advocates in the underserved communities of rural WV. HSTA is a four-year college pipeline program for high school students who are selected to participate based on program criteria. Many HSTA students experience at-risk factors that impact college persistence and success, such as minority background, financially disadvantaged family, and/or first-generation college student. HSTA’s curriculum consists of seven core elements: reward, recreation, relationships, research, relevance, rigor, and repetition that are delivered in an after-school club environment, through community-based research studies, and during summer camp immersion experiences. Data will show this influences student success at the high school and college level. For example, the HSTA curriculum plays a key role in retaining HSTA students. Another program initiative is the in-state college waiver awarded to students who complete the program. Initiatives continue through college, such as campus-based alumni associations with focuses on high school mentoring and providing peer to peer mentoring for each other. In addition, our sister program Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP) provides an incoming college freshmen experience as well as a graduate school preparation program. Results and discussion can provide ideas and resources to other pipeline and collegiate programs seeking to increase college persistence and success among at-risk students.

Redefining the Work of Feminist Praxis: Making Space for a (Rebellious) Undergraduate Feminist Research Group

ABSTRACT This article traces the practices and outcomes of an undergraduate research group that began organically to foster research and activist collaborations in a small group setting and without the rubric of a structured course, formal lab setting, or formal institutional backing. We consider several outcomes of this group: (1) Graduate school entry and preparation for graduate school; (2) The importance of feminist friendships and feminist community among students; (3) The fusion between scholar/activist identities, with clear emphasis on de-centering whiteness, challenging patriarchy, and undermining homophobia and transphobia; and (4) The investment in mentoring and nurturing relationships with students across race, class, gender, and sexual identity lines. In particular, we argue that students of color, gender queer/trans/LGBT students, and students from working class backgrounds are especially served by such models of mentoring and community, particularly as feminist mentoring can contribute to the work of social justice for underprivileged students.

Graduate school preparation from the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program: A systematic review

Underrepresented students attain a lower proportion of graduate degrees in the United States (US), demonstrating inequity in higher education. The Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program has been providing underrepresented students with supports to increase their ability to attain a graduate degree. A systematic literature review identified that the Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program promotes student growth in personal, social, and academic areas, as well as assist students enter graduate school. Few articles mentioned issues with the program but include students’ difficulties with socialization and the transition into graduate school. Limitations of the collected studies and possibilities for future research examining this program are included

Graduate School as the Third Level of Higher Education: Field of Discourse

This article proposes a shift in the discussion of graduate educational programs (graduate military courses) used to train academic personnel. This proposed shift is toward a social field of discourse where the inconsistencies and uncertainties of the current regulatory framework (for modernizing the training and certification of highly qualified research personnel) are looked at from the perspective of the purpose of graduate school (preparation of a dissertation) and minimized. In addition, the article reviews the public’s decreased interest in graduate school as an institution and compares master’s degree programs, graduate degree programs, and existing global models for the preparation of highly qualified personnel in the graduate schools of institutions of higher education. It is concluded that the social issues of graduate schools are significantly more important than issues related to the development of educational programs.

TRIENNIAL REPRODUCTION SYMPOSIUM: American Society of Animal Science L. E. Casida Award for Excellence in Graduate Education: Thoughts on mentoring graduate students in reproductive biology.

Programs in animal science are particularly well suited for graduate education because students can receive comprehensive training in the laboratory as well as with the whole animal. Furthermore, graduate students in animal science have the opportunity to understand how their research relates to a real world problem. Graduate students need to take ownership of their education by identifying training goals, choosing a mentor who will help them achieve their goals, and becoming engaged in research as soon as possible. In my own graduate program, I emphasize concepts more than techniques and I believe that graduate course work should focus on the basic areas of science that underlie reproductive biology (e.g., endocrinology, biochemistry, physiology, immunology, and statistics). Based on the increase in technology available for scientific investigation and the diversity of expertise required to address important research problems, graduate students need to learn the importance of establishing productive collaborations and begin building a scientific network. Preparation for graduate school frequently begins early with a curiosity and passion for understanding how biology works. Undergraduate courses can facilitate scientific thinking by providing opportunities in lectures and laboratories for students to transition from passive learners to thinking of themselves as animal scientists. There is a profound difference between individuals who view themselves as practitioners of a discipline and those who are simply trying to complete a course requirement. Teachers of undergraduate courses should incorporate experiential learning exercises into their lectures and laboratories to provide undergraduate students the opportunity to function as animal scientists and to embrace their scientific education. Graduate training has been the most enjoyable aspect of my career and it has been a joy to witness the achievements of students following completion of their degree!

More than an intervention: strategies for increasing diversity and inclusion in STEM

Purpose This paper aims to provide insight into the strategies used by leaders of graduate school preparation programs for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to recruit and retain graduate students of color within STEM fields. Design/methodology/approach This paper is a qualitative multiple-case study using a snowball sample and semi-structured interview protocol. Twenty interviews were conducted. Findings Graduate program leaders use particular strategies to increase diversity and inclusion within graduate STEM education, and these strategies are strongly influenced by their institutional context. The most common strategies include collaboration, mapping the political terrain, evaluation, mediation, persistence, persuasion, networking in and outside of the institution, strategic planning, bargaining and negotiation, reaching out to the greater campus, and coalition building and developing allies. Research limitations/implications All of the institutions in this study were public research institutions. Further inquiry is needed on more diverse types of institutions. Practical implications The results of this study can be used by institutional and STEM program leaders who wish to increase diversity and inclusion. Social implications This research study raises awareness about an under-studied group of leaders, as well as the importance of considering context when developing strategic plans for increasing diversity and inclusion for STEM. Originality/value This study is unique because while graduate school preparation programs have become an important strategy for addressing diversity in STEM fields, research on these programs usually focuses only on student outcomes. This study provides rare insight into what is required to implement, sustain and expand these kind of diversity programs.

Entering the (Postgraduate) Field: Underrepresented Students' Acquisition of Cultural and Social Capital in Graduate School Preparation Programs

Examining the role of humanities graduate preparation programs in facilitating underrepresented undergraduate students' socialization to the field (social context) of graduate education, this critical multisite case study finds that these programs are crucial to bidirectional anticipatory socialization for graduate education, where one gains new ideas but does not abandon one's background. Additionally, these programs helped in the acquisition of the type of cultural and social capital that are likely to be relevant to disciplinary knowledge, skills, and competencies in graduate education.

Entering the (Postgraduate) Field: Underrepresented Students’ Acquisition of Cultural and Social Capital in Graduate School Preparation Programs

Examining the role of humanities graduate preparation programs in facilitating underrepresented undergraduate students’ socialization to the field (social context) of graduate education, this critical multisite case study finds that these programs are crucial to bidirectional anticipatory socialization for graduate education, where one gains new ideas but does not abandon one’s background. Additionally, these programs helped in the acquisition of the type of cultural and social capital that are likely to be relevant to disciplinary knowledge, skills, and competencies in graduate education.

Of Course

Students often inquire about which psychology courses to complete in preparation for graduate school. This study provides data that enable students and their advisors to make research-informed decisions. We surveyed the directors of the 304 American Psychological Association-accredited doctoral programs in clinical and counseling psychology (97% response rate) regarding prerequisites for doctoral study: the psychology courses, number of psychology credits, undergraduate psychology major, or some combination thereof. About 20% of the doctoral programs required the psychology major for entry, and 8% of the doctoral programs (virtually all in counseling psychology) required a master’s degree. The remaining doctoral programs required either specific courses or specific courses and a minimum number of credits. In clinical psychology, PsyD programs were far more likely to require abnormal psychology, personality, and psychological testing as prerequisites, whereas PhD programs were more likely to require a laboratory course and research experience.

Insider's guide to graduate programs in clinical and counseling psychology

Preliminary discussion concerns such topics as preparation for graduate school, the application process, and methods for selecting a school. The bulk of the text is devoted to reports on individual graduate psychology programs in the areas of clinical, counseling, and professional-scientific. Report

Careers Beyond the Bedside: One Approach to Develop the Ethnic Minority Nursing Faculty Pool

The wide disparities in health by race and ethnicity across the nation underscore the continuing need to increase the number of racial and ethnic minorities in the nursing workforce. In their roles as educators and researchers, minority nursing faculty help to alleviate the current disconnect between health care providers and the population that nurses serve. The authors have developed a program to increase the number of minority students in the baccalaureate nursing program at their university and to prepare them to enroll in doctoral programs within 1 year of graduation. The Careers Beyond the Bedside program offers undergraduates preentry, academic enrichment, and graduate school preparation activities designed to facilitate careers as nursing faculty educators and researchers.

Effectiveness of an Online Graduate Preparation Program

The present study reports the results of a controlled examination of the effectiveness of an online graduate preparation program, the Virtual Advisor. The effects of the Virtual Advisor were compared to a website preparation group and a wait-list control group. Results indicated that, compared to the control group, students who utilized the Virtual Advisor showed increased levels of knowledge regarding graduate school preparation and higher levels of graduate preparation self-efficacy and career decision self-efficacy. The website preparation condition also demonstrated an impact on some of these variables, but these effects were generally less consistent or robust. The nature of these findings in relation to the literature on graduate preparation is discussed, and the limitations and implications are outlined.