Providing Research Experiences to Minority Undergraduates: The Pathway to Success in Graduate Education?
Abstract
UTEP is an Hispanic Serving Institution located along the U.S.-Mexico border with tremendous access to a diverse student population. The Pathways Research Experience Program (PREP) at UTEP is designed to provide students from underrepresented groups access to research under the supervision of a faculty mentor. Students are selected for the program based on GPA, letters of recommendation, and a research proposal. Since 2002, 16 students have worked on a variety of research projects under the auspices of PREP. This group has included 12 women and 10 Hispanics. Of these students 6 have graduated and 4 have continued onto graduate programs at other institutions. A key part of this project is the research stipend which enables students to focus on their undergraduate studies without having to seek outside employment. Student research topics have been diverse and have included projects in paleontology, structural geology, hydrogeology, environmental geology, and geomicrobiology. Student research projects have been presented at national meetings including the Geological Society of America and Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in the Sciences, as well as research expos at UTEP. In addition to providing access to research projects the students participate in workshops on applying to graduate schools, obtaining financial aid, and good study habits. Our overall goals for this project have been to mentor students through an undergraduate degree in geology and prepare them for graduate education in the Earth Sciences. Although our project is just beginning, our preliminary results suggest that this type of research experience increases the likelihood that minority students will continue onto graduate school.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2004
- Bibcode:
- 2004AGUFMED23A0089A
- Keywords:
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- 0800 EDUCATION;
- 0810 Post-secondary education;
- 0850 Geoscience education research