Research is Another Word for Education
Reed Wilson, Director of the Undergraduate Research Center for Humanities and Social Science
Audrey Cramer, Director of the Undergraduate Research Center for Life and Physical Science
Judith L. Smith, Department of Neuroscience and Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education
University of California (UCLA)
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1361
Between 1997 and 2001, NSF-RAIRE funds were used to promote two major initiatives that were designed to support UCLA’s continuing efforts to eliminate the perceived divide - if not outright opposition - between the teaching and research missions of the University. Indeed, we believe that these missions should not only fortify each other, but they can and must be one and the same in the process and practice of undergraduate education. In other words, undergraduate research must be undergraduate education at the research university.
We have tried to create structures and programs that provide an integrated and well-sequenced research-rich education. We believe that providing the opportunity for all undergraduates to participate in research activities should be one of the key missions of a public research university. Participation in research allows students to learn most intimately the skills they need for academic success, enables them to become active contributing members of the larger research and creative community, and encourages them to take the kind of ownership of their education that best prepares them for graduate school, professional school, career opportunities, and active citizenship.
The General Education Science Initiative
The first RAIRE funded project was our general education science initiative, designed to integrate research and education for non-science students. Two new general education courses were created in the 1999-2000 Academic year. While general education courses do not often include real discovery or research activities, we wanted non-science students to have the opportunity to think and act like scientists while they consider the societal implications of current technology. We wanted these courses to prepare students to be scientifically literate citizens while simultaneously offering them a major research accomplishment.
The first course is The Genome: Blueprint, Controversy, Destiny, designed by Dr. Cheryl Kerfeld (Life Science Core and General Education Science Initiatives) and Dr. Jeanne Perry (Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology) as an inquiry-based course with a laboratory component for non-science majors. First offered during the winter term of 2000, the course explores the many ways in which molecular biology - including the Human Genome Project, genetically modified foods, gene therapy and forensics - is permeating our society. The laboratory component of the course includes experience in actual research; students contribute to the sequencing of a microbial genome.
The second general education course is and Space Science: The Active Sun and its Effects on Earth. First offered in the fall of 1999, Space Science is taught jointly by Professors Ashour-Abdalla from UCLA and Hiroshi Matsumoto from Kyoto University. The course focuses on the fact that our sun’s cycle is it its most active phase, the solar maximum. During such times, magnetic storms become more prevalent, causing satellites to fail, power outages and disruptions in communications. Sixty students from UCLA and 40 from Kyoto University study these phenomena by using the latest NASA and ISAS tools for monitoring the sun and for recording the effects on earth. Technological advances such as high-speed transmission permit simultaneous transmission of high bandwidth content such as demonstrations, graphics, video, and computer simulations that can be remotely controlled in real time. High-speed audio and video links enable students to hear and communicate with one another and their professors in real-time. In addition, an engaged, responsive, and well-synchronized teaching team is available to students in class, during on-line office hours, and by e-mail. These two courses engage non-science students in research-like activities within dynamic courses that focus on current issues in science.
The Undergraduate Research Centers Initiative
A second undergraduate research initiative funded by NSF RAIRE funds enabled UCLA to develop two Undergraduate Research Centers (URCs) with a variety of programs for all students. This initiative, the primary focus of this chapter, represents our continuing commitment to undergraduate research at all levels. NSF-RAIRE funds were used to establish the two Centers, to reorganize and expand our entry-level Student Research Program, and to further expand Research Center programs and activities. Since the grant period has ended, most of these programs have been supported by the UCLA College, and their firm foundation and success has attracted outside private donations used exclusively to support students engaged in senior thesis projects.
The URC for Humanities and Social Sciences serves all students in arts, humanities, social science, and behavioral science disciplines, and the URC for Life and Physical Sciences serves all students in math, science and engineering. The latter URC recently merged with UCLA’s Center for Academic and Research Excellence (CARE) which serves historically underrepresented students in math, engineering and science who intend to pursue careers in scientific research and teaching. This combined unit is now called URC/CARE. Frequently updated information about UCLA undergraduate research opportunities and URC programs and services, as well as current profiles of undergraduate researchers are available at http://www.college.ucla.edu/ugresearch/index.html
One of the goals of Undergraduate Research Centers is to simply help students understand what we mean by research at the University. While most students entering UCLA have some understanding of the value and importance of laboratory or library work, most see research as a means to an end rather than as a creative and dynamic process. Furthermore, entering students do not understand the importance of fieldwork in the natural and social sciences, and even less frequently do they understand the full range of research activity - scholarly, critical, and creative - in the humanities.
Second, the Centers seek to involve as many students as possible in entry-level research activity early in their university careers, and to guide and even support them through that activity to a significant independent capstone experience. While we believe that research helps all students become more successful learners and better-prepared applicants to graduate and professional schools, we also believe undergraduate research creates better and better-informed citizens. In a complex world increasingly dependent on free and open research activity, we need our graduates to leave the university understanding what research is, what it does, and why it needs their support.
While we are dedicated to providing outreach to all students, we especially seek to increase participation in our programs by transfer students, historically underrepresented students, low income students, first generation students, and students who have faced major obstacles in pursuit of higher education. With this in mind, the Centers collaborate closely with such UCLA programs as the Academic Advancement Program. The URC/CARE also co-sponsors, with UCLA’s Center for the Study of Women and Men, the Catalyst Mentorship Program that connects students in the sciences with underrepresented science faculty and sponsors Citylab, a program for students in the sciences who would like to help high school students understand and explore the world of research in molecular biology.
The Student Research Program—Entry-Level Experiences
Undergraduate research begins with the URC administered Student Research Program (SRP), an entry-level undergraduate research program suited to freshmen, sophomores and first-year transfer students. We see SRP as the first step towards participation in departmental research courses and capstone independent research projects.
SRP was founded in 1985, with 90 students and 150 faculty members participating each quarter. In the 2002-2003 academic year, nearly 900 students and 375 faculty members participated. Approximately 80% of the students assist with research in the School of Medicine, the life sciences and physical sciences, and approximately 20% in the social sciences, the humanities, the arts, and the other professional schools. Currently, about 30% of all life sciences students do at least one SRP before graduation. The level of participation is lower in other divisions such as physical sciences (18%), social sciences (5%) and humanities (4%). Nevertheless, 23% of all students graduating from the arts and sciences have completed some kind of research project. We attribute this number to the health and success of this entry-level opportunity.
SRP usually takes the form of a research apprenticeship or internship in which a student works with a faculty mentor on her or his research project. In the humanities and social sciences, an SRP project is more often a pre-independent study project, either entirely or partially the student’s own research. In order to expand the number and variety of SRP opportunities, we have encouraged faculty to consider how their research could include not only advanced research, but also teaching-related research. In the humanities and social sciences, students may create undergraduate research groups as SRP projects. Such groups, under the supervision of either the faculty mentor or a graduate student supervisor, help create a group environment that is similar to the lab group in the natural sciences but which is too often missing in the undergraduate‘s research experience in humanities and social science.
One of our first goals was to give SRP the attention it deserved in order to strengthen and further legitimize the program. We found that while most SRP projects involved legitimate research activity, some were really laboratory, fieldwork, or clerical assistantships in which students had little sense of the overall project. By requiring that students be engaged in actual research activities and that they know and understand the big picture of the research project, we quickly made SRP more than extracurricular or community service projects.
SRP was originally a voluntary program for which students who fulfilled the terms of an SRP contract received transcript notation. Beginning in 1999, we made SRP a course with variable units. By taking this step, we not only added further value to SRP, but also promoted recognition of the hard work done by students pursuing SRP and by the faculty serving as mentors. Students now receive one unit of credit for three hours of research per week and 2 units of credit for 6 or more hours per week. Students may apply up to six units of SRP credit toward graduation, but cannot work on more than one SRP project (maximum of 2 units) in any one term.
The SRP class is listed through UCLA’s Honors Collegium but all undergraduates in good standing who are enrolled in at least 12 quarter units are eligible to enroll. The common listing initially simplified enrollment procedures across campus and permitted us to award Honors credit for an educational experience that requires students to take a step beyond the usual. Beginning in Fall 2004 however, each department will have its own course (numbered “99”) dedicated to SRP (although the program will still be administered fully by the URCs). We hope this will make it easier to coordinate SRP with other departmental offerings, and will allow faculty more easily and effectively to receive course credit for SRP mentoring.
In order to enroll in SRP, students must first attend an SRP orientation session offered by the URCs. These hour-long sessions are offered during the enrollment period and serve as general introductions to undergraduate research. Topics covered include identifying research interests and faculty mentors, approaching faculty mentors, completing and submitting the online contract, general contract obligations, programs and services of the Research Centers, and opportunities beyond SRP.
Students begin the SRP enrollment process by submitting an SRP contract online. This contract is available during the enrollment period on each student’s MyUCLA Web portal. The contract requires the student to select a faculty mentor, to describe briefly the research activity (which must be something other than basic maintenance or clerical tasks), to print the contract, and to submit an electronic version. Enrollment in SRP HC 99 is completed when the student submits a signed hard copy of the contract to URC staff and it is approved.
At the end of the quarter, each SRP student files a brief online evaluation of her or his experience. The faculty mentor also files an online evaluation, and certifies that the contract has been completed. Once both documents are submitted, the student receives a pass grade and credit for the course. No letter grades or incompletes are permitted. In cases where faculty or students have failed to submit evaluations, an NR (no report) appears on the student’s record until the pass grade is submitted.
Evaluations by SRP students confirm three values of this entry-level experience. First, students generally feel that they have had an important mentored experience, and have created connections with faculty and other researchers that they would not have otherwise had. One student working with an art historian writes, “My SRP experience has been one of the most valuable experiences at UCLA. I have been able to form a relationship with a professor that I both admire and respect.” She calls this relationship, “a collaborative relationship where my input is valued as much as my actual research.” Another student remarks, “The people I worked with were very friendly and were very excited to teach me all these concepts and techniques,” and another realizes that “research is not about one individual, but a collaboration of the whole team.” Indeed, the few negative or critical evaluations we receive almost always express a desire for more mentoring or collaborative activity.
Second, students praise the new kind of learning they have experienced. “I learned more by working in a lab than I ever could have in lab class,” one writes. Another writes, “I’ve learned more here than I have in any other academic pursuit.” Students are also often very perceptive about exactly what they have learned in this process. One student working on a creative poetry project writes, “I have found my SRP to be extremely valuable in helping me develop my critical faculties as well as my creative tendencies and capacities.” Other students simply feel more secure in the educational and career paths they have chosen: “The whole experience has been so rewarding and has reassured me that I have chosen the right major,” and, “I found this to be an invaluable experience, and most importantly, it has helped to point me in the direction I would like my career to go in the future.”
Third, and perhaps most importantly, students feel they have come to understand what one calls “the process of researching itself.” One undergraduate writes, “I really enjoyed [my SRP project] and I learned a lot about conducting research … One of the best parts was coming up with new questions, because I really felt like a researcher … It really helped to get a better insight as to what research is.” Another has come to realize that scientific research “is at times more of an art than a science” as he has heretofore only narrowly understood science. “All the tinkering and trial and error was something that I was not expecting, and at times it was very frustrating. However, nothing is more satisfying than solving a problem in research. In school, one seems to learn things and accept them on faith; in research one must always remain faithfully skeptical.” Another says that she has “learned much more about the patience and time involved in the scientific process” than ever before.
As we have noted, humanities and social science contracts account for only about 20% of all SRP contracts. There are a variety of reasons for the disparity between the number of contracts in the humanities and social sciences and the number in the natural sciences. One is that faculty research in humanities and social science disciplines often requires less substantive assistance. When such assistance is required, graduate student research assistants do the work. Another is that collaboration in humanities and social science disciplines is less evident and tangible, and often takes the form of a long ongoing conversation across distance and even time. And while many students might be interested in independent SRP projects, faculty often see the mentoring of such projects as something extra, that is unrelated to their own research work and for which they are not compensated.
The humanities and social science URC will continue to work with departments and faculty to promote and encourage SRP in all of its forms. We believe that dedicated mentoring in the long run makes stronger and more engaged undergraduates in the classroom, thus relieving faculty of some of the burdens of teaching while expanding its rewards. In short, much of our effort must be directed toward changing the culture of undergraduate education at the research university, and in helping to lay the foundation for a different kind of faculty-student interaction.
One of the ways we will do this is by involving more graduate students, who are, after all, future faculty. We know that while research projects in the natural sciences are overseen by faculty PIs, much of the close mentoring and supervision is done by graduate students and post-docs. In other words, in the sciences at UCLA, graduate student participation in undergraduate research already has a long and successful history. In order to create a similar culture of involvement for graduate students in humanities and social science disciplines, we are currently developing the Undergraduate Research Associates Program (URAP) that will offer workshops, activities, training, and mentoring opportunities for humanities and social science Ph.D. students.
Undergraduate Research Associates will work with SRP students as mentors to undergraduate research assistants working on the graduate students’ dissertation projects, as SRP group supervisors, or as mentors to undergraduates working on pre-independent study projects. Working closely with undergraduates in this way will allow humanities and social science graduate students to get the kind of mentoring experience already often available to graduate students in the sciences while they will also get helpful assistance with their research, and an opportunity to teach in their field.
The URC for humanities and social science will closely supervise the associates, sponsor workshops and discussions on mentoring issues, and offer associates opportunities to observe master mentors at work. We envision an academic year program that would begin with a pre-term orientation session featuring an introduction to URC programs and services, and panel discussions by undergraduate researchers and successful faculty mentors. Over the course of the year, associates will attend monthly Best Practices talks by faculty mentors, and learn more about both the joys and challenges of mentoring. Other workshops will focus on such subjects as sexual harassment and psychological issues in mentoring. Our goal is to make training and discussions of mentoring as important a part of graduate student pedagogical training as the training they receive in more traditional classroom instruction.
Of course, we anticipate the development and growth of this program to be slow and difficult. Our first year (2003-04) will be one in which we recruit graduate student mentors by working closely with graduate advisors and graduate student organizations. We need to make clear the benefits to graduate students involved in undergraduate research. Free and potentially time-saving research assistance from undergraduates is the most obvious benefit. Also, graduate students may see that close mentoring of individuals or groups is an opportunity to “teach in one’s field” seldom, if ever available to them. And finally, graduate students need to realize that mentoring experience can be a very helpful leg up in a very tight academic job market.
The Student Research Forum
While the SRP course gives students hands-on experience in research, the Student Research Forum (SRF - also taught through the Honors Collegium and graded P/NP) promotes a broader and deeper understanding of university research, and helps students engaged in SRP define their place in the larger research community. Students attend six plenary presentations on topics that explore the role of research at UCLA and throughout the nation, the regulations that govern research and creative activities, and some key projects at UCLA. Guest faculty from all four divisions of the College (Humanities, Social Science, Life Science, and Physical Science), as well as from other Schools such as Arts, Medicine, Public Health, Theater Film and Television, and Engineering, discuss how they came to pursue careers in teaching and research, and describe their current research or creative activity.
In addition to the plenary sessions, students are required to attend a minimum number of workshops on a variety of topics, including creating a research proposal, writing an abstract, presenting research ideas in oral presentations and posters, doing conference presentations in humanities and social science disciplines, writing personal statements for graduate school applications, and writing and reviewing articles for publication.
Departmental Undergraduate Research Courses
We hope to make SRP not just an essential part of the undergraduate curriculum at UCLA, but also an important stepping stone to more advanced research courses and independent study in each student’s major department. All academic departments at UCLA offer undergraduate research courses. Many courses listed as seminars are effectively research courses that require a substantial research project or paper, and all departments offer directed studies courses that offer credit for independent research. Departments vary in their requirements for enrolling in directed studies, but most require upper-division standing and a research proposal. When the term ends, students are also required to submit some tangible evidence of the research activity, usually a written paper or project.
Many departments also have organized and carefully structured senior thesis programs that offer departmental honors. Some of these programs begin as early as winter or spring of the junior year with seminars that help students define and select appropriate research methodologies, create and propose specific projects, and select appropriate mentors. The senior year typically consists of at least two honors directed studies courses that culminate in a substantial comprehensive thesis project for which the student receives honors or highest honors.
Undergraduate Research Publications
Undergraduates doing research need venues for presentation of their research, as well as an opportunity to learn more about the conventions for selection and presentation of research and creative work. The URCs respond to both of these needs by sponsoring two student-run journals. These are Westwind, a journal of creative writing and research in the humanities and social sciences, and the Undergraduate Science Journal (USJ). The staffs of both journals are official UCLA student groups, and staff are also eligible to enroll in two special two-unit courses offered through Honors Collegium. In these courses editors collaborate to develop effective strategies for manuscript solicitation and selection, and bring the journal to finished form through design, layout, and production.
Westwind, which has existed on the UCLA campus for over 30 years, was originally exclusively a literary magazine. It now features not only original undergraduate poetry and fiction, but also research papers from all arts, humanities, social science, and behavioral science disciplines. Contributors to the most recent issue majored in fields as varied as American Literature and Culture, Anthropology, Asian-American Studies, Business Economics, Communications Studies, Computer Science, Economics, English, Environmental Studies, French, History, International Development Studies, Japanese Linguistics, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, and Theater. Each year, special Vice Provost’s Prizes are awarded for best essay, fiction, and poetry.
The Undergraduate Science Journal, established in 1986, features undergraduate papers in the life and physical sciences and engineering, as well as review articles and faculty interviews. Contributors to the most recent issue represented such departments as Chemistry and Biochemistry, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, Neuroscience, Physiological Science and Psychology. Vice Provost’s Prizes are also awarded to USJ contributors for the best article and for special editorial achievement.
Undergraduate Research Celebrations
Because publication is not the only way that research is shared, disseminated, and recognized, the URCs sponsor and promote a variety of other opportunities for undergraduates to present their research. Each May, the Centers sponsor three university-wide research events, and help develop and advertise a variety of departmental events.
