Undergraduate Research Statement

The American Physical Society (APS) calls upon the nation’s colleges, universities, national laboratories, and industries to provide and facilitate access to research experiences for all physics undergraduates. Participating in research empowers students, especially members of under-represented/marginalized groups, with practical skills and a deeper understanding of the scientific process, contributing to their success in physics and related fields. These research opportunities also provide valuable mentoring experiences for mentors.

Context and Actions

Research experiences provide students with many critical skills. These include problem definition, open-ended problem solving, project design, and hypothesis testing. Students also gain interdisciplinary knowledge, learn how to use apparatus and computational techniques, and develop communication and analytic skills. Participation in research has also been shown to increase retention in STEM degree programs, and support students’ decisions to pursue STEM careers. The skills gained are of great value to students as they go on to engage in a wide range of careers.

These experiences are especially critical for historically underrepresented students, such as women, minorities, and those from low-income families and/or who are living in small towns and rural areas, who often lack access to professional development opportunities, role models and mentors, or a professional support network.

Suggested actions:

1. Providing multiple ways for all students to participate in early research experiences, whether lab-based, course-based, summer-based, etc.
2. Supporting faculty in becoming effective research mentors. Include early research mentoring as a criterion for hiring and promoting faculty.
3. Informing students about research opportunities and assisting them in applying to on-campus or off-campus research programs.
4. Providing and assisting faculty in securing funds to pay research stipends, acknowledging that unpaid positions may exclude low-income students who need to work to pay for their education.
5. Ensuring that early researchers have access to necessary research infrastructure including instrumentation and laboratory space.
6. Organizing events for students to present their research.

The review process for any statement may be started at any time if deemed necessary by the Panel on Public Affairs, and at least once every five years.