Ten hours a week, two terms: what the persistence data says

The most useful study we know on student research ran for ten years. It followed science students across many institutions and paired each student who did research with a similar student who did none.¹

The result has a threshold in it. Students who did ten or more hours a week of faculty-mentored research, across two or more semesters or summers, were more likely to graduate with a science degree. They were more likely to get into a science graduate program. Six years after graduation they were more likely to be working or training in science. Students who did less research than that looked like students who did none.¹

Why the threshold matters

Ten hours a week for two terms is a part-time job. Most college students already have one: nearly 70 percent work while enrolled.² A student cannot hold a paying job for fifteen hours a week, take a full course load, and give a lab ten more hours for free. Something goes, and the unpaid thing goes first.

So the benefit of research falls to students who can afford sustained unpaid hours. A second study shows what happens when students with fewer resources do get in. At six public universities, the four-year graduation gap for low-income, first-generation, and students of color was half as large among undergraduate researchers. At six years it had closed.³

What we changed because of it

We fund whole positions. A small award that covers a week of groceries leaves the student still working a second job, and below the threshold where research starts to count. We pay the rent and the living costs for the full length of the position, so the hours can go to the lab.

Read the rest of the evidence.

Sources

1. Hernandez PR, Woodcock A, Estrada M, Schultz PW. Undergraduate research experiences broaden diversity in the scientific workforce. BioScience. 2018;68(3):204-211. doi.org
2. Carnevale AP, Smith N. Balancing Work and Learning: Implications for Low-Income Students. Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, 2018. cew.georgetown.edu
3. Haeger H, Bueno EH, Sedlacek Q. Participation in undergraduate research reduces equity gaps in STEM graduation rates. CBE Life Sciences Education. 2024;23(1):ar11. doi.org

Sources checked September 21, 2026. See every source we cite.