Utilizing A Social Cognitive Theoretical Framework To Investigate The Influences Of A Summer Undergraduate Research Experience On Participants’ Academic And Career Plans

Undergraduate research experiences in engineering have recently received significant interest as mechanisms for attracting undergraduates to graduate-level work. In particular, the National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) initiative aims to recruit students to careers in research. Our work employs a social cognitive theoretical framework to investigate how participation in a summer undergraduate research program influences participants’ academic and career plans (specifically plans to pursue a Ph.D.) and their selfefficacy for future scientific research. A mixed-methods approach, incorporating survey instruments, interviews, and weekly self-reflective journal entries, was utilized to study undergraduate researchers (N=10) participating in a REU program at a large research university. A key finding from the qualitative data was the role that graduate mentors played as “coping models” in developing undergraduate participants’ self efficacy, and consequently, their academic and career plans involving doctoral-level work. This study has implications for better understanding the advantages of summer undergraduate research experiences such in recruiting and retaining qualified students for graduate studies and research careers. In particular, these data make the case for fostering formal and informal interactions between graduate students and undergraduate researchers and for including specific opportunities for participants to learn vicariously through coping models that they perceive to be similar to themselves.