Impact of Summer Research Experiences on Educational and Career Paths of Rural and Tribal Undergraduate Students

Undergraduate years are critical for engaging students in research to increase the number pursuing careers in science. For rural and tribal college students, a demographic underrepresented in science, research opportunities at home institutions may be sparse. Through our NSF‐funded Research Experience in Neuroscience for Students from Rural and Tribal Colleges (REU) we have six cohorts of students who have completed a 10‐wk summer research experience. In addition, the past two summers we leveraged other resources to incorporate more students into our established REU program. We used pre‐, post‐surveys, and focus groups to evaluate the impact of the REU. In addition to analyzing demographics and career choice outcomes, we assessed influences on career choices, including personal factors, family and community contributions. The REU program has resulted in a significant number of rural and tribal students progressing to post‐baccalaureate programs. Students report high impact in terms of strengthening lab skills and increased scientific literacy and self confidence. They also report high satisfaction with the resultant learning and organization of the experience. Analyzing these factors allows a better understanding of the contribution of undergraduate research experiences to postgraduate study and career choices. Support: NSF REU Site grant 0851869, NIH grant P20 RR016741.