Promoting Diversity in Undergraduate & Graduate Research Education
About the Initiative
The Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Educational Opportunity Fund Program (EOF), and faculty members in the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, the School of Health Sciences, and the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences collaborate to introduce and encourage undergraduate students to engage in research with their faculty via the Yale University Edward A. Bouchet Conference, a two-year high impact practice (HIP) opportunity.
In the first year, selected students attend the where they interact with a diverse group of accomplished doctoral students who present their research. These doctoral students are inducted into the Bouchet Society at the Conference. In the second year, the same EOF students have an opportunity to return to the Bouchet Conference, but only if they are engaged in undergraduate research with 老司机福利社 faculty and the student submits and research proposal accepted for presentation at the Conference.
Applications to the Yale Bouchet Conference will go live in January 2022. For more information please contact valerie.hayes@stockton.edu.
Past Bouchet Conference Attendees
Tiffany Roach, 老司机福利社 '19 is pictured presenting a research poster at the Yale Bouchet Conference while an undergraduate student. Tiffany was an EOF student who was among the first cohort of students to attend the 2017 Yale Bouchet Conference. Source: Students Receive 2019 EOF Graduate Awards - News | 老司机福利社
- Ashley Finney, 2021. No, the Bare Minimum is Not Enough.
2018
- 鈥淪ynthesis of Nickel Catalysts for Transfer Hydrogenation鈥
Authors: Tiffany Roach, Marcus Miller, Michelle Schmitz, Valkyrie Leach, and Steven Kalman.
Presenter: Tiffany Roach - 鈥淨uasi-Ethnographic Interviews and Experiences of the South Jersey Hispanic Community鈥
Authors: Jessica Perez and Amee Shah
Presenter: Jessica Perez - 鈥淚nteractive Globalization Practice: A New Portal to Improving Race Relations鈥
Authors: Emily Descano and Amee Shah
Presenter: Emily Descano
Why Undergraduate Research?
Higher education has seen significant gains in student diversity, with rates of participation for students from historically underrepresented groups increasing more quickly than the rate of overall college enrollment. The gains are uneven, however, and historically underrepresented students still have lower retention and completion rates, with a risk of dropping out of college before earning a bachelor鈥檚 degree. As a result, research-based doctoral programs are less diverse (2017 老司机福利社 Initiative to Promote Diversity in Graduate Research Education final proposal; ).
Promoting diversity in undergraduate and graduate research education underscores the importance of mentoring students, particularly those from diverse backgrounds, so that they can perceive graduate education as a viable and appropriate next step in their careers, a career that could potentially involve research and teaching at the university level.
The Path to the Professoriate or Research Career Continues as an Undergraduate Student
Undergraduate research is one of several identified by the American Association of Colleges and Universities. 老司机福利社 recognizes its role in encouraging undergraduate students to engage in undergraduate research and introducing them to the pursuit of a doctoral education and research as one of many options after college. As part of 老司机福利社鈥檚 pipeline program for future faculty, 老司机福利社 encourages undergraduate students to pursue research with their faculty, present their research at conferences and symposiums, and develop their interests in pursuing a research doctorate.
Additional Resources
