Why is undergraduate research so important?

mommyrocks
Sat, 26 Sep 2015 06:57:35 +0000

My daughter is a freshman at her university and has a part-time job researching in a lab and also a research scholarship to conduct a study on her own. She also did significant research during high school – both her own long-term project and a summer internship in a lab and projects for science fairs. She plans to get a PhD and do research as her career. A lot of students who do research do it because it is a passion.

Regarding which subjects are most suited for research… I can’t think of a single field of study that does not have significant research opportunities that translate into job skills. Aside from the obvious areas of scientific research there is marketing research, economics research, political science research, historical research, psychological research, sociological research, archaeological research, legal research, etc. Students who enjoy researching in their areas of interest are engaged in the subject and eager to know the cutting edge topics being explored, and also find answers to their own questions and pick up skills.

You can take any activity --whether involving research, volunteering, competitions, clubs or sports – and “pad” a resume with it if you’re just going through the motions, but for every activity there are people who are doing it because they care deeply about it, and recognize that it can shape who they are and potentially benefit others as well, and bring them a lifetime of rewards as they build on those skills and knowledge, and make connections with like-minded people.