94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or good
Learn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish.
Find out more
ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. STEM Education
Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1518726
Factors associated with applying to graduate/professional degrees for students engaged in undergraduate research experiences at MSIs
Provisionally accepted- The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, United States
This research study investigates the impact of undergraduate research experiences on applications to graduate and professional programs, particularly for underrepresented minority students at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). The study analyzes data collected at ten MSIs participating in the NIH BUILD program to understand the relationship between research participation (in formal programs versus informal research), student demographics, science self-efficacy, GPA, and application to advanced degree programs. Results indicate that undergraduate research participation, especially in formal programs for extended periods of time, positively influences applications to graduate/professional programs, with similar outcomes observed across underrepresented minority and non-minority students.
Keywords: undergraduate students, minority students, UG research, pursuing graduate/professional school, biomedical
Received: 28 Oct 2024; Accepted: 11 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wagler, Reyes and Monarrez. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Amy Wagler, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, United States
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.