Abstract
Undergraduate research (UR) experiences benefit students by improving their professional skills, disciplinary knowledge, and readiness for life post-graduation. For example, students engaged in faculty-mentored research are better able to analyze data and solve problems (Cooper et al., 2019) and show increased retention and graduation rates (Daniels et al., 2016, 2019; Estrada et al., 2018). However, it is the more privileged students who most often engage in these experiences. These students often have higher self-efficacy and the financial resources to participate in these activities. Meanwhile, students from historically-excluded populations (such as Black, Hispanic, and first-generation students) often do not have the confidence to navigate social and academic cultural practices (Corrigan, 2003; Bhattacharyya & Chan, 2021) or may not be aware of the advantages of engaging in research (Bangera & Brownell, 2014). Furthermore, UR experiences are often out of reach for those with financial need or other non-negotiable responsibilities that prevent them from undertaking such activities (Davidson, 2018).
Because of these factors, it is all the more crucial for historically-excluded students to engage in research activities. These students receive greater gains than the more traditional students (Nagda et al, 1998; Lopatto 2004, 2007; Russell, Hancock, & McCullough, 2007; Jones, Barlow, & Villarejo, 2010), including increased graduation rates and the likelihood of applying to a graduate program post-graduation (Barlow and Villarejo, 2004). It is vital for higher education professionals to be attentive to equity, as systemic barriers may exclude some of the brightest scholarly minds who could benefit from personalized, faculty-mentored research (Intemann, 2009).
At Florida Gulf Coast University, the Work in Scholarly Experiences and Research (WiSER) program addresses this inequity by targeting historically-excluded students for research assistantship positions with faculty mentors from any discipline. The program utilizes both internal funds and Federal Work-Study through the Financial Aid office to compensate the student at no charge to the participating faculty’s department.
Additionally, the program employs a professional-development aspect in its curriculum. Historically-excluded students are less likely to utilize professional-development opportunities provided by university support services (Stebleton & Diamond, 2018). We seek to address this equity gap by supplementing the WiSER program with a curriculum of professional-development and community-building activities. These activities involve the development of different skills that students are rarely exposed to in their courses, such as: how to write proper CVs, resumes, and cover letters; how to write a research philosophy; how to do an elevator pitch; communicating your research to different audiences, especially outside of your discipline; and mock interviews. Additionally, these lessons and activities are designed in such a way that require full participation and collaboration between the students. Our goal is for them to work together to help each other practice their pitches, peer-review their cover letters and CVs, give each other feedback on how to improve their practice interviews. In doing so, students are not only exposed to a great diversity of perspectives (from working with people from different backgrounds and disciplines), but also develop a professional network of like-minded peers.
