What research does for a student

Sustained research keeps students in science

A ten-year study followed science students at many institutions and matched each researcher with a similar student who did no research. Students who did ten or more hours a week of faculty-mentored research, for two or more semesters or summers, were more likely to graduate with a science degree. They were more likely to enter a science graduate program, and more likely to be working or training in science six years after graduation. A brief research experience was not enough to change those outcomes.¹

This finding shapes how we give. The benefit comes from sustained hours, and sustained hours are what a student with a paying job cannot spare.

Research closes graduation gaps

A 2024 study pooled records from six US public universities. Undergraduate researchers were twice as likely to graduate in four years and more than ten times as likely to graduate in six. The gaps in four-year graduation for students of color, low-income students, and first-generation students were cut in half among researchers. At six years the gaps had closed.²

The authors add a warning that matches our experience. Students with fewer resources may not have the time or money for unpaid research, and paid research lets them add to their finances where unpaid research drains them.²

Research changes plans

A study of 4,152 students who entered college planning a science major found that taking part in undergraduate research raised the probability of planning for a science graduate degree.³ A survey of 1,135 undergraduate researchers at 41 institutions found that more than 83 percent began or continued plans for postgraduate science education.⁴

Who gets the chance

Students from lower-income families often must work to pay for college, so they cannot volunteer in a lab.⁵ Finding a position also runs on unwritten rules: who to email, when to ask, what a lab expects. The same paper argues that this falls hardest on first-generation students.⁵

What the evidence cannot show yet

The National Academies reviewed this field in 2017. Its report found that most studies of undergraduate research describe students who chose to take part, and it called for more studies that can separate the effect of research from the traits of the students who seek it out.⁶ The studies above handle this with matched comparison groups. None of them is a randomized trial.

We read the evidence this way. Research experience is strongly tied to the outcomes a student cares about, the tie is strongest when the experience is sustained, and the students least able to afford sustained unpaid work are the ones for whom it closes the most ground.

Read the papers

All of these are in the journal article library, with links to free copies where they exist.

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. 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
3. Eagan MK, Hurtado S, Chang MJ, Garcia GA, Herrera FA, Garibay JC. Making a difference in science education: the impact of undergraduate research programs. American Educational Research Journal. 2013;50(4):683-713. doi.org
4. Lopatto D. Survey of Undergraduate Research Experiences (SURE): first findings. Cell Biology Education. 2004;3(4):270-277. doi.org
5. Bangera G, Brownell SE. Course-based undergraduate research experiences can make scientific research more inclusive. CBE Life Sciences Education. 2014;13(4):602-606. doi.org
6. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Undergraduate Research Experiences for STEM Students: Successes, Challenges, and Opportunities. National Academies Press, 2017. doi.org

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