Content area
While quantitative research has revealed that undergraduate research experiences are closing graduate school matriculation gaps for underrepresented students, little is known about how they are doing this. This study explores this through two in-depth interviews with 12 students who attended a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site in summer 2022 and were enrolled in graduate school as of fall 2023. Ten reported an underrepresented identity. Via mostly informal interactions with faculty and graduate student mentors and program directors, students learned whether graduate school was for them, how to apply, how to identify schools, and more about their own research interests. Findings demonstrate that REU Sites, specifically through informal interactions, play an important role in transmitting the hidden curriculum to undergraduate students interested in postgraduate education.
Abstract
While quantitative research has revealed that undergraduate research experiences are closing graduate school matriculation gaps for underrepresented students, little is known about how they are doing this. This study explores this through two in-depth interviews with 12 students who attended a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site in summer 2022 and were enrolled in graduate school as of fall 2023. Ten reported an underrepresented identity. Via mostly informal interactions with faculty and graduate student mentors and program directors, students learned whether graduate school was for them, how to apply, how to identify schools, and more about their own research interests. Findings demonstrate that REU Sites, specifically through informal interactions, play an important role in transmitting the hidden curriculum to undergraduate students interested in postgraduate education.
Keywords: National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates Sites, hidden curriculum, graduate school, mentorships, Mentor-Relate study
American graduate education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields is marked by social inequities. Underrepresented racial and ethnic minority students in science and engineering received 16 percent of doctoral degrees despite making up 26 percent of bachelor's degree recipients in 2020 (NCSES 2023). While the gender gap between men and women in STEM has largely closed at the undergraduate level, women still make up 40 percent of doctoral recipients in those same fields (NCSES 2023). Although myriad structural inequities contribute to these issues, barriers and inequities in graduate school application processes have recently been the subject of investigation and attempts at remediation, especially in light of the 2023 Supreme Court decision to overrule affirmative action (Estien et al. 2023; MartinezVu and Chavez-Garcia 2024).
During the graduate school application process, competitive applicants must demonstrate competency in their field of study as well as an awareness of higher education norms and expectations, also termed the hidden curriculum. The hidden curriculum is "aspects, routines, jargon, and behaviors embedded in organizational contexts that those inside and in leadership understand but are veiled and foreign to newcomers" (Reddick and Burnette 2023, 36-37). In graduate school applications, this could include how to write competitive statements of purpose, ask for letters of recommendations, find potential faculty advisors (Haeger et al. 2018; Cadena et al. 2023; Martinez-Vu and ChavezGarcia 2024), and gain access to academic social networks (Cadena et al. 2023). Thus, scholars have argued that by increasing access to this knowledge, the graduate school application process could become more equitable (Estien et al. 2023; Haeger et al. 2018; Martinez-Vu and ChavezGarcia 2024; Cadena et al. 2023).
Undergraduate research experiences (UREs) have long been considered effective ways to improve students' retention in STEM and ultimately their matriculation into graduate school, especially among underrepresented students. UREs have been shown to improve students" science identity (Merolla and Serpe 2013; Frederick et al. 2021; Morales, Grineski, and Collins 2018), scientific self-efficacy (Adedokun et al. 2013; Robnett, Chemers, and Zurbriggen 2015), and interest in attending graduate school (Merolla and Serpe 2013; Willis, Krueger, and Kendrick 2013; Grineski, Morales, and Collins 2023). URE participation is also associated with student graduate school enrollment and degree completion (Piatt et al. 2019; Brouhle and Graham 2022) and higher skill competency while in a graduate program (Gilmore et al. 2015).
While quantitative research on UREs has revealed that they are closing content knowledge, skills, and graduate school matriculation gaps, relatively little work examines how UREs are doing this. One potential way is by making visible the hidden curriculum. Some studies point to how UREs help STEM students understand what graduate school is and provide connections for letters of recommendation (Trott et al. 2020; Adedokun et al. 2012; Hunter, Laursen, and Seymour 2007). However, since those analyses focus on career path and graduate school entry, findings about the graduate school application process itself are secondary. They also focus on a limited number of institutions, barring an understanding of programs nationally across many STEM disciplines. Here, the study relies on longitudinal data from a national sample of students engaging in summer UREs, improving on previous work.
To date, only one study has directly addressed the role of UREs in helping students understand the hidden curriculum of graduate education, and it focuses mostly on clarifying tenure structures and interactions with faculty mentors (i.e., Haeger et al. 2018). Haeger and colleagues (2018) found that panel sessions on mentoring/research and activities designed to familiarize students with academic jargon (such as the differences between adjunct, assistant, and associate professors) helped students understand the hidden curriculum. However, they did not follow students through their graduate school application process or dissect the ways that mentorship helps students understand graduate applications.
URE program assessments have explored the theme of graduate school applications. One program assessment found that for underrepresented students, having a volunteer mentor help them through their graduate school application process was helpful in decoding the hidden curriculum (Cadena et al. 2023). Their results, while promising, primarily describe their highly regarded URE program rather than exploring undergraduate students' specific experiences with their applications.
This study is conceptually oriented by the idea of anticipatory socialization, which is the process through which an individual learns more about a profession they hope to join (Miller 2010; Winkle-Wagner and McCoy 2016; Apker, Abendschein, and Kaplan 2023). Most studies of anticipatory socialization to graduate school focus on how students learn about the graduate school and application processes more generally. Apker and colleagues (2023) found that undergraduate students are most likely to receive informa - tion about graduate school from graduate students and faculty. Summer institutes can be avenues of anticipatory socialization through which students prepare for graduate school; two such programs in the humanities helped underrepresented students feel more knowledgeable about the application process and more prepared in content and skills (Winkle-Wagner and McCoy 2016). Since UREs connect undergraduate students with faculty and graduate students and often provide information about graduate school, they are sites of anticipatory socialization. This study, then, serves to further understanding about how undergraduates participating in UREs are socialized in preparation for graduate school.
The team followed 12 students who participated in different National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Sites in summer 2022 and were enrolled in graduate programs in fall 2023. These 12 students were part of the Mentor-Relate study (NSF grant #2055379), which collected surveys and interviews from students for a year after they participated in REU Sites (summer UREs). The study addresses the research question, How do REU programs provide students with insider knowledge about graduate school applications? Ten of those 12 reported at least one underrepresented identity in graduate school (i.e., first-generation student, student of color, and/or woman), making understanding how their REU socialized them for the graduate school application process important to learning how REUs can break down barriers to graduate school matriculation.
Methods
The Mentor-Relate study was approved by institutional review boards (IRBs) at the two collaborating universities (#152679; #3895) and included students from 78 REU Sites. REU Sites offer 8-10 weeks of faculty-mentored research experiences to undergraduate students. Many students also work with graduate student mentors. REU programs target underrepresented students, namely racial and ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, women, and veterans (NSF 2023).
During fall 2022, the program directors from these 78 sites sent a digital survey to their student participants about their REU experiences (n = 561). One question asked students whether the research team could contact them for an interview (п = 331 said "yes"). A stratified sampling approach was used to select the interviewees to ensure that they oversampled students who were of color, first-generation, and female, nonbinary, or transgender.
This produced a diverse set of interviewees, with their demographics illustrated in Table 1, column A. To obtain their target of 44 interviews, the authors contacted 76 students during fall 2022. They contacted these potential participants up to three times over text and email. In fall 2023 and into January 2024, they recontacted the original interviewees, and 42 were interviewed.
The second author was the lead interviewer for both sets of interviews; the first and fifth authors also conducted interviews. Of those 42 interviewees, 12 were enrolled in graduate school and are the focus of this article. With these 12 interviews, the authors found that they had achieved data saturation, where participants began expressing shared sentiments and similar experiences. Their use of these 12 interviews meets appropriate methodological standards for qualitative research (Richards and Morse 2013). Table 2 provides information about each student, and Table 1, column B provides summary statistics. Compared to the 44 interviewees, those in graduate school were more likely to be a cisgender man, White or Asian, and a first-generation college student (Table 1, column B). Those not in graduate school were still undergraduates (п = 21), working (п = 6), or job searching (n = 3).
The interviews focused on students' experiences with research and mentorship. The second interviews were modular depending on students' path in the last year, although everyone was asked general questions about their academic and research trajectory. For those in graduate school, the authors asked about their current graduate school experiences, including questions about the application and decision-making process, such as "How did your summer 2022 REU influence your graduate school process?" During the interviewing period, the authors met weekly and discussed emerging themes.
The team transcribed both sets of interviews, cleaned the transcripts, and then uploaded them into MAXQDA, a qualitative analysis software program (VERBI Software 2021). The first author initially coded content related to graduate school (from both interviews). While this included students' experiences in graduate school, the authors decided to focus their next round of coding on the time period before students began their graduate program, when they were applying and deciding where to attend. The team developed a preliminary list of subcodes that fell into three time-based content categories: graduate school considerations pertaining to their weeks at the REU, the application process, and the decision-making process; they added additional subcodes as necessary. Afterwards, the first author further analyzed the data, refining the initial subcodes to create axial codes, as the team began the writing process. Throughout this process they identified a thematic through-line (Cascio et al. 2019), the hidden curriculum, which affected how the authors conceptualized their axial codes. Their axial codes became "is grad school for me?" "identifying graduate schools," "learning about the application process," and "refining and solidifying research interests."
Results
Here, the content of the axial codes and their connection to the hidden curriculum is described. Table 3 provides an overview of which interviewees were classified into each axial code.
Is Grad School for Me?
For two students, interacting with mentors and program directors at the REU expanded their understanding of research and graduate school in a way that led them to apply for postgraduate education when they had not previously intended to apply. Possibly because few college courses explicitly discuss how graduate school operates, these students reported having misconceptions about postgraduate studies before their REU. The unmasking of the hidden curriculum in terms of what graduate level work entails via mentorship received during their REU experience opened new doors to postgraduate education.
Kamryn is a first-generation White woman who majored in applied social science. Her REU program directors scheduled individual meetings with the students to talk about their career paths. They were also present daily to talk informally with students. When she began her REU, Kamryn had no plans to pursue a PhD, although she was already enrolled in a joint "441" bachelor's-master's program. She explained her thoughts about earning a PhD before the REU by saying, "T m never gonna go to school for five years. Why the hell would I ever do that to myself?" However, conversations with her REU program directors helped Kamryn modify her postgraduation plans to include a PhD. She reflected that the mentorship she received at the REU "was my favorite part because I didn't really know what I wanted to do after graduation. But now Im applying to PhD programs because of that kind of mentorship." She was accepted to at least three fully funded PhD programs and was pursuing her degree at the time of the second interview.
Daniel, a Black continuing-generation man studying computer science, started thinking about graduate school for the first time during his REU. He attributed this in large part to the conversations he had had with his graduate student mentor about being a graduate student. Referring to this mentor, he explained in his first interview that:
I think seeing his experience, or him sharing his experience in what graduate studies and graduate school is like was very helpful. I would sit in that little room, and he's five feet away from me: "What's it like to . . .? What's it like to . . .?" and Бе' а turn around laugh, or tell me off, and then explain it for much longer than my question really was intended for so, very insightful, and I can't, it was a blueprint for sort of possibilities or what is out there for me to do, if I decide, when I decide to go to graduate school.
As of fall 2023, Daniel had returned to his REU university for a master's program. His REU, like Kamryn's, helped expand his "blueprint of possibilities" to include graduate school by providing a glimpse at what graduate school could look like through interactions with a graduate student mentor.
For the 10 students who had already decided to pursue graduate school before the REU, learning more about the expectations of graduate school by watching graduate students and faculty in action was beneficial in helping students understand that path. Derek, a multiracial, continuing-generation man in computer science, reported learning more about the expectations and difficulty associated with pursuing a PhD. He reported that,
I guess it showed me that research was kind of, like, very intense at times, because sometimes, it was just, I would like, smack my head against the wall for like a week, because there was a problem with the code and like nothing would fix it. And so, stuff like that showed me how research is not very easy, and like being a PhD student is very hard. If you want to do research for those, like five years, or however long as a PhD student is.
While Derek was accepted to both master's and PhD programs, he decided to pursue a master's degree. It is unclear from the second interview if his decision related to this realization. However, his REU experience helped him to better understand the sacrifices and level of work a PhD would require, possibly helping him make more informed decisions when deciding between a master's and a PhD.
Identifying Graduate Schools
Five students reported that their REU mentors and/or program directors helped them to identify potential graduate schools during and after their REU. Helping students know what to look for in graduate schools and/or directing them on where to apply demystified the graduate school landscape. These interviewees learned to prioritize mentorship, identify mentors and programs that would be a good fit, and connect to their mentors' networks. They gleaned this information through both informal conversations (during and after the REU) and formal sessions during the REU.
Several students received advice to pick a school based on mentorship, including Tyler, a White continuing-generation man majoring in biology. While in the lab together, he talked to his graduate student mentor about applying to graduate school. He reported the following in his first interview:
Probably some of the best advice I got from [the graduate student mentor] was to research mentors instead of the schools themselves. Because you can go to a good school, but you might not have a good mentor. So, you can really kind of forge a bond with a mentor before you even are finished enrolling in a school, and he kind of showed me how I can do that, how I can look for a mentor.
A year later, Tyler was enrolled in a master's degree program at his REU university working with the same mentors.
Matthew, a first-generation Asian man majoring in physics, also found potential faculty mentors through formal REU programming. His REU program hosted regular sessions where faculty members at the university presented on their research. He used these presentations to get to know the faculty and to help him decide whether he would like to work with them. He explained, "Some of them, I felt, really embodied what the ideal mentor would be like, and so I, for specifically the [REU Site university], I applied to professors that I knew had that, had those abilities and capacities." After the REU, Matthew applied to return for graduate school, hoping to work with those professors. Although he was not accepted back to that program, he is currently pursuing a master's in physics elsewhere.
While Matthew's experiences at his REU motivated him to apply to that university for graduate school, for other students, the opposite happened. Elaine, a White continuinggeneration woman in physics, decided against applying to her REU institution for graduate school. She explained that [graduate student mentor] just told us really frankly, "I would not recommend that any woman do a PhD in physics at [REU Site]." He was like, "Our physics department is not a good place right now for that," and that was really useful to know, and it was really gratifying that he was so straightforward with us."
Elaine triangulated this information with another graduate student and ultimately did not apply. Instead, she applied to other schools and was comfortable in a PhD program at her second interview.
Many REU students accessed their faculty mentors' professional networks (an element of the hidden curriculum), as those mentors recommended programs to apply to and/or provided students with letters of reference. While Addison, a White first-generation student in biology, did not receive a reference from her REU mentor, that mentor connected her with colleagues at schools she might be interested in attending. As such, Addison was accepted to two graduate programs where her REU mentor had connected her. Regarding this, Addison said, "When I say that this REU experience has like changed my life, 1 mean that." Letters of reference were a common way that students tapped into their REU mentors' networks (n = 9). While the students did not talk about it this way, others have recognized this. Posselt (2018, 2016) documented that who writes the letter and that person's connections to the admissions committee have significant bearing on the perceived validity of the letter in admissions decisions.
Learning about the Application Process
Whether the students began their REU with graduate school intentions or developed them during the program, the insights they gained about how to successfully apply to graduate school proved invaluable. Without the REU, these interviewees may not have learned how to find a faculty adviser, write a statement of purpose, or understand how admissions committees make decisions. This is because many college students do not have close relationships with faculty members or graduate students if they are not engaged in intensive faculty-mentored research. Only 25 percent of college graduates reported that they had a mentor who encouraged them to pursue their goals (Strada Education Network and Gallup 2018).
Five students reported having formal sessions at the REU program focused on graduate school applications. Right after the REU had ended, Victoria, a first-generation biology major and Asian woman, talked about how these sessions helped level the playing field for her:
I would be honest, grad school, there's like a hidden curriculum that like no one talks about, and that program really helped deconstruct the hidden curriculum, like what schools are mostly looking, for what professors are looking for when you're applying to grad school. It just helped make the playing field more even because they're just like little things, like, oh, just even how to like email professors, or even reaching out to a professor, how that's not something that, like I don't know, people don't talk about it, because I think a lot of students, they have parents who are already in academia. It's just to them, it's just common sense.
These formal sessions on graduate school applications helped Victoria feel more prepared to apply. She felt that her home university, a highly selective liberal arts institution, predominantly catered to students whose parents had advanced degrees, and so having an REU program to fill this gap With respect to graduate school application information for first-generation students was important. Her application cycle was successful, including several PhD offers, and she now attends a prestigious university as a PhD student.
In contrast to learning via formal sessions, nine students reported gaining insights through informal conversations. Naomi, a multiracial continuing-generation woman majoring in biology, told us in her second interview that her REU "helped fill in, just with conversations with graduate students and other people in my REU cohort, just through conversations. Okay, I know I want to do this. What are the steps to get there? Like, what are the finer details?
How do I apply? . . . And I think all that information just kind of came together, and, you know, helped me with my application process."
Understanding the "finer details" of graduate school applications helped Naomi begin a PhD program with full funding. Similarly, other students expressed that informal interactions with REU mentors helped them learn how to write a personal statement, which improved their graduate school applications.
Through individual conversations, Zoe, a White continuing-generation woman majoring in computer science, learned how admissions committees evaluate students' materials. Her graduate student mentor had served on an admissions committee and told her that "it's really an arbitrary process, because we get so many good applications." Zoe continued, "She was really helpful in talking to me like and giving me a sense of what that process is like, you know, once the application is submitted." These conversations likely translated into knowledge she could use to inform her applications. Understanding the extent to which decisions are out of their control may provide reassurance to students awaiting responses and coping with rejections. Zoe was accepted to five PhD programs and currently attends a top-ranked program in her field.
Refining and Solidifying Research Interests
Most students (n = 9) commented on the REU's influence on their research interests, which ultimately shaped their graduate school applications. By attending their REU programs, these students learned more about the nuances within their fields and were introduced to research methods not available at their home institution. Analysis of these nine students' interviews revealed how learning more about specific research directions gave them an opportunity they would not have otherwise had to explore their research interests before applying to graduate school. This may be, in part, because only one of the 12 students attended a research-intensive institution for their undergraduate degree. Furthermore, graduate schools often expect potential students to demonstrate competency in their field in unspecified but essential ways in their applications (Martínez-Vu and Chavez-Garcia 2024). Learning more about their field of study during a REU Site experience may give students a leg up in crafting informed personal statements or while interviewing.
Students reported that their REU program expanded their research interests and/or confirmed those interests. Kira, a White first-generation woman in math, reported that her REU expanded her perceptions of her field. She reported that,
I think it clarified what I wanted to do in grad school. Because obviously, you enjoy math, but specifically, what type of math do you enjoy? I think the REU clarified specific interests that I have, and maybe doesn't constrain me to this one interest. It helped me narrow down what Im interested in and also expose[d] me to other types of math research that other people are doing, and like how that is related to what I'm doing as well, because we also had talks as well during the REU.
While Kira reported expanding and then focusing her research interests, Oscar, a continuing-generation White male student in math, indicated that "the REU helped solidify, like, okay, these are areas that T generally want to make sure that the math [graduate] program has faculty and, like, these are actually areas that T am interested in doing research in and rather than just thinking, I like the idea of doing research on this." For Elaine, her REU experiences helped her to feel confident asserting her research interests. She reported that "when I was writing my grad school applications, [the REU] made me able to say with a lot more confidence, this is the type of research I want to do." This was especially important for Elaine since the type of research she conducted at the REU was not available at her home institution. While she chose her home institution because it had small class sizes and courses taught by faculty, her department had only two researchactive faculty members, neither of whom did research in her subfield. Without the REU, she would not have had the opportunity to conduct research in her subfield before beginning graduate school.
Discussion
This study illuminates how UREs helped to anticipatoril y socialize students for graduate school by illuminating the hidden curriculum of the graduate school matriculation process. Students reported that their REUs helped them understand the inner workings of a graduate school experi - ence and whether it was consistent with their goals. They learned how to approach the application process, identify schools, and connect with their mentors" networks. Experiences at the REU Site also helped them clarify and refine their research interests, which helped them communicate confidently about their research interests on graduate applications in a way that reflects the standards of the field. Deliberate socialization, like that which happens at REUs, is especially important for underrepresented students (Winkle-Wagner and McCoy 2016), who make up the majority of the interviewees.
A consistent theme throughout the interviews was the centrality of individual conversations for transmitting the hidden curriculum to students. The frequency of this theme in the data speaks to its centrality in the REU experience as an influence on students" graduate school trajectory. One year after the initial interview, all but one of these nine had been accepted into multiple graduate programs. The other student only applied to and was accepted to one university.
This reflects how these conversations were likely helpful with students' graduate school applications.
The results suggest several practical implications. URE programs should include formal sessions on graduate school that focus on the hidden curriculum, for example, tangible advice for students (e.g., how to write a fieldspecific statement of purpose), and have diverse faculty speak about their graduate school paths. Given the salience of informal interactions, URE program directors should encourage mentors to have these conversations with their undergraduates during and after the program, connect students with multiple mentors, and create space for informal conversations to happen.
While the longitudinal study design is a strength, all REU students in this paper successfully matriculated to graduate school. The study does not include REU students who applied to graduate school and were rejected by all schools as those experiences did not occur in this cohort. Having those reflections would have helped illuminate aspects of the hidden curriculum that perhaps REU programs are missing. While the full study includes a diverse set of students (see Table 1, column A), these 12 enrolled in graduate school lack representation of Latinx and genderdiverse students. A larger sample of interviewees would help to address these limitations, but this was not possible under Mentor-Relate's research design. Finally, the study pertains only to NSF REU Sites, which are short-term summer programs. Many students participate in other forms of UREs not represented here. Students also partici - pate in other high-impact practices (e.g., internships) that might shape their graduate school intentions, but they were not the focus here.
Conclusion
Sharing the hidden curriculum with undergraduates via UREs is an important intervention, as it could contribute to rectifying the persistent underrepresentation of people of color and women among those with advanced STEM degrees (NCSES 2023). These students may not have access to this information via other channels, such as family members with advanced degrees or research-active faculty mentors at their home institutions. While this study is limited in scope, it suggests that UREs may be an effective means of incorporating students into "academic lineages" whereby knowledge about application processes is transmitted (Estien et al. 2023, 1). Accordingly, UREs are an important space of anticipatory socialization for students who may or may not be interested in graduate school at the start of their URE.
Data Availability
The data underlying this study are not publicly available due to the specifics of the IRB-approved research protocol. They may be available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request, but sharing the data will require IRB approval and a commitment to collaborate with the authors.
Institutional Review Board
The Mentor-Relate study was declared exempt by IRBs at the University of Utah and the University of Massachusetts Boston (4152679; #3895).
Conflict of Interest
The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to the REU programs and participants for taking part in our study.
References
Adedokun, Omolola A., Ann B. Bessenbacher, Loran C. Parker, Lisa L. Kirkham, and Wilella D. Burgess. 2013. "Research Skills and STEM Undergraduate Research Students" Aspirations for Research Careers: Mediating Effects of Research Self-Efficacy." Journal of Research in Science Teaching 50(8): 940-951. doi: 10.1002/tea.21102
Adedokun, Omolola A., Dake Zhang, Loran Carleton Parker, Ann Bessenbacher, Amy Childress, and Wilella Daniels Burgess. 2012. "Understanding How Undergraduate Research Experiences Influence Student Aspirations for Research Careers and Graduate Education." Journal of College Science Teaching 42(1): 82-90.
Apker, Julie, Bryan Abendschein, and Hannah A. Kaplan. 2023. "I Feel like Grad School Is a Pretty Big Decision": Exploring Vocational Anticipatory Socialization through Messages about Pursuing Graduate Education." Communication Quarterly 0(0): 1-23. doi: 10.1080/01463373.2025.2455591
Brouhle, Keith, and Brad Graham. 2022. "The Impact of an Undergraduate Research Experience on Graduate Degree Attainment across Academic Divisions." Scholarship and Practice of Undergraduate Research 6(1): 32-42. doi: 10.18833/ spur/6/1/3
Cadena, Melissa A., Cathy Amaya, Daisy Duan, Carlos A. Rico, Leonor García-Bayona, Aníbal Tornes Blanco, Yessica Santana Agreda et al. 2023. "Insights and Strategies for Improving Equity in Graduate School Admissions." Cell 186(17): 3529-3547. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.07.029
Cascio, M. Ariel, Eunlye Lee, Nicole Vaudrin, and Darcy A. Freedman. 2019. "A Team-Based Approach to Open Coding: Considerations for Creating Intercoder Consensus." Field Methods 31(2): 116-130. doi: 10.1177/1525822X 19838237
Estien, Cesar O., Melissa Chapman, Christopher J. Schell, Nicole Lowy, and Jacqueline R. Gerson. 2023. "Demystifying the Graduate School Application Process." Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 104(1): 1-12. doi: 10.1002/bes2.2029
Frederick, Angela, Sara E. Grineski, Timothy W. Collins, Heather A. Daniels, and Danielle X. Morales. 2021. "The Emerging STEM Paths and Science Identities of Hispanic/Latinx College Students: Examining the Impact of Multiple Undergraduate Research Experiences." CBE- Life Sciences Education 20(2): ar18. doi: 10.1187/cbe.20-08-0191
Gilmore, Joanna, Michelle Vieyra, Brianna Timmerman, David Feldon, and Michelle Maher. 2015. "The Relationship between Undergraduate Research Participation and Subsequent Research Performance of Early Career STEM Graduate Students." Journal of Higher Education 86(6): 834-863. doi: 10.1353/jhe.2015.0031
Grineski, Sara E., Danielle X. Morales, and Timothy W. Collins. 2023. "Modifying Summer Undergraduate Research Programs during COVID-19 Increased Graduate School Intentions but Exacerbated Anxieties." CBE-Life Sciences Education 22(3): ar32. doi: 10.1187/cbe.22-12-0243
Haeger, Heather, Carla Fresquez, John E. Banks, and Camille Smith. 2018. "Navigating the Academic Landscape: How Mentored Research Experiences Can Shed Light on the Hidden Curriculum." Council on Undergraduate Research Quarterly 2(1): 15-23. doi: 10.18833/spur/2/1/7
Hunter, Anne-Barrie, Sandra L. Laursen, and Elaine Seymour. 2007. "Becoming a Scientist: The Role of Undergraduate Research in Students' Cognitive, Personal, and Professional Development." Science Education 91(1): 36-74. doi: 10.1002/ sce.20173
Martinez-Vu, Yvette, and Miroslava Chavez-Garcia. 2024. Is Grad School for Me? : Demystifying the Application Process for First-Gen BIPOC Students. University of California Press. doi: 10.1525/9780520393998
Merolla, David M., and Richard T. Serpe. 2013. "STEM Enrichment Programs and Graduate School Matriculation: The Role of Science Identity Salience." Social Psychology of Education 16(4): 575-598. doi: 10.1007/s11218-013-9233-7
Miller, Shari E. 2010. "A Conceptual Framework for the Professional Socialization of Social Workers." Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment 20(7): 924-938. doi: 10.1080/10911351003751934
Morales, Danielle X., Sara E. Grineski, and Timothy W. Collins. 2018. "Effects of Gender Concordance in Mentoring Relationships on Summer Research Experience Outcomes for Undergraduate Students." Science Education 102(5): 1029-1050. doi: 10.1002/sce.21455
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES). 2023. "Diversity and STEM: Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities." Special Report NSF 23-315. National Science Foundation. https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf23315/
National Science Foundation (NSF). 2023. "Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU): Sites and Solicitations." https://new.nsf. gov/fundin g/opportunities/research-experiencesundergraduates-reu/nsf23-601/solicitation
Piatt, Elizabeth, David Merolla, Eboni Pringle, and Richard T. Serpe. 2019. "The Role of Science Identity Salience in Graduate School Enrollment for First-Generation, Low-Income, Underrepresented Students." Journal of Negro Education 88(3): 269-280. doi: 10.7709/jnegroeducation.88.3.0269
Posselt, Julie R. 2016. Inside Graduate Admissions: Merit, Diversity, and Faculty Gatekeeping. Harvard University Press. doi: 10.4159/9780674915640
Posselt, Julie R. 2018. "Trust Networks: A New Perspective on Pedigree and the Ambiguities of Admissions." Review of Higher Education 41(4): 497-521. doi: 10.1353/rhe.2018.0023
Reddick, Richard J., and Colette Pierce Burnette. 2023. "The Mentoring Matrix: Developmental Relationships and How They Sustain BIPOC Students, Staff, and Faculty." In Restorative Resistance in Higher Education: Leading in an Era of Racial Awakening and Reckoning. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
Richards, Lyn, and Janice M. Morse. 2013. "Making Data." In Readme First for a User's Guide to Qualitative Methods. London: SAGE Publications, Inc. doi: 10.4135/9781071909898
Robnett, Rachael D., Martin M. Chemers, and Eileen L. Zurbriggen. 2015. "Longitudinal Associations among Undergraduates' Research Experience, Self-Efficacy, and Identity." Journal of Research in Science Teaching 52(6): 847-867. doi: 10.1002/ tea.21221
Strada Education Network and Gallup. 2018. "2018 StradaGallup Alumni Survey: Mentoring College Students to Success." Strada Education Network. https://go.stradaeducation.org/stradagallup-alumni-survey
Trott, Carlie D., Laura B. Sample McMeeking, Cheryl L. Bowker, and Kathryn J. Boyd. 2020. "Exploring the Long-Term Academic and Career Impacts of Undergraduate Research in Geoscience: A Case Study." Journal of Geoscience Education 68(1): 65-79. doi: 10.1080/10899995.2019.1591146
VERBI Software. MAXQDA 2022. Software. 2021. maxgda.com.
Willis, David A., Paul S. Krueger, and Alice Kendrick. 2013. "The Influence of a Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program on Student Perceptions and Desire to Attend Graduate School." Journal of STEM Education: Innovations and Research 14(2): 21-28.
Winkle-Wagner, Rachelle, and Dorian L. McCoy. 2016. "Entering the (Postgraduate) Field: Underrepresented Students" Acquisition of Cultural and Social Capital in Graduate School Preparation Programs." Journal of Higher Education 87(2): 178-205. doi: 10.1353/jhe.2016.0011
Copyright Council on Undergraduate Research 2025