Undergraduate Research: Does it Promote Graduate Education? Creating Future Graduate Students in Engineering

The Undergrad Only Colleges Mechanical Engineering Department would like to promote students to choose to pursue graduate education. This paper outlines a new program that introduces cadets to the world of graduate education. The core of the program is to partner with existing graduate schools to germinate the seed of future work in graduate engineering education. The goal is to foster the benefits of graduate education and the career enhancement that obtaining the education affords. We also believe that participation in the program makes the undergraduate student a better communicator and logical thinker with the ultimate goal of introducing the students to graduate studies in engineering. In this paper we introduce the conceptual framework of the program and the results of its early implementation. We will also address the future planning for continued longitudinal study of the program. Overview Alexander (1) suggests that the essential features of a successful summer program include: a meaningful research experience, the opportunity to interact with role models and other undergraduate students forming a “community”. In the Bauer(2) study researchers surveyed three groups: those who participated in research experience as part of a “university organized” program, those who participated in research on their own with a faculty member or those who did not do research as part of their undergraduate experience. In the first two groups those surveyed were more likely to go on to graduate school, reported a greater satisfaction in their undergraduate experience, and reported increases in intellectual curiosity, research skills and communication skills. A study by Foertsch (3) found that students participating in undergraduate research felt the experience was a necessary and important step in getting into graduate school and the relationship with a mentor was critical to their success. Russell (5) found that undergraduate student researchers said that the research experience clarified their career interests, increased their understanding and their confidence. Why should engineering educators promote graduate work? A graduate degree will increase the technical background in the focus area. Most master’s degrees require 30 hours of course work and that translates into 10 different courses in the focus area. Obtaining a graduate degree will make you a cut above your peers and allow you to perform more interesting work. In addition a graduate degree requires you to perform research and publish a thesis. This independent work distinguishes those with a graduate degree as one who can think independently and can express those thoughts in a coherent manner. The technical gains that are made in the pursuit of the graduate education make clear the limits of engineering analysis and design. This instills a better understanding of the ethical responsibilities associated with creating solutions for the public. For these reasons the Undergrad Only College is promoting graduate education. Currently the Undergrad Only College fosters the opportunity for undergraduate research with a faculty mentor. This one-on-one environment for academically motivated students, along with financial and material support, has been in place for several years. Students propose a research project in coordination with a faculty mentor, with the student as the principal investigator. The P ge 25391.2 proposal is vetted by a faculty committee to determine whether the research will be funded. In many instances the completed work is published by the students. However, in this environment, there is no opportunity for the engineering students to be exposed to a graduate engineering research environment. A new joint cooperative program was created this past summer with the intent of exposing students to graduate work in engineering. The Undergrad Only College and a Grad Institution partnered to create and jointly fund summer research projects for the Undergrad Only Colleges students. The students propose a research project that is jointly mentored by a Grad Institution faculty member and a faculty member at the home Undergrad Only College. After the projects were selected, the student spends the summer at the Grad Institution conducting a study or experimental work to complete the research project. The program broadens the research opportunities for the undergraduate student by enabling the student to go to the Grad Institution and interact with graduate faculty and students. The initiative is to promote and instill a desire for undergraduate students to pursue graduate education. The idea is to place the undergrad student in a graduate environment so that the research work being done may spur them to choose to pursue further education. An additional benefit to both institutions is an understanding between the institutions. The understanding is that there will be a guaranteed admission to a certain number of qualified undergraduate students in any graduate program offered by the Grad Institution. There was a group of students that completed undergraduate research projects at the Undergrad Only College. There was a second group of students that completed research at the Graduate Institution. The two groups are compared below.