Why Undergraduate Research? A talk with Dean Gerald Graff about the benefits of undergraduate research

For many undergraduates, performing some kind of research is an exhilarating and purposeful experience. It provides students with an opportunity to partake in an education beyond the criterion that is required of them. Dean Gerald Graff, an Associate Dean in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is a strong advocate of undergraduate research. Dean Graff believes that undergraduate research is an integral aspect of an undergraduate education. In fact, he is a firm believer that the American education system is lacking in the sense that students are not encouraged enough to become involved in research. For the past fifteen to twenty years, Dean Graff has been studying why schooling is often a failure
and among his solutions is an increased emphasis on undergraduate research.

One of the fundamental problems in education, according to Graff, is the gap that exists between students and professors. When faculty is involved in research and students are not, it creates a gap. Bringing research to undergraduate students is a way to bring students and professors together, said Graff. It’s bad when students don’t know what professors are up to. In fact its crazy. Truly, it is not difficult to see that something is lost when students and professors are not part of the same enterprise. If research provides students with a better opportunity to become a part of the graduate field of their choice, while educating them, why aren’t
there more students doing research? The answer is very simple according to Graff. It has to do with the fact that the research projects conducted by many professors are way too narrowly defined. In other words, their specificity takes away from their appeal to the undergraduate student population. In addition, those ambitious students that do gain research positions are usually not informed of the implications of the research. Without this information, their work can easily become monotonous and tedious, which ultimately takes away from the student’s interest.

Now the question arises, why are students kept uninformed? Graff explains that a potential explanation of this phenomenon is the fear of prematurely professionalizing students. He says that professors are developing a protectiveness of the amateur spirit, trying to keep students away from the tendency for private gains that he calls careerism. This, however, is self-defeating because a major concern of Universities should be preparing students for the professional world. We need to get them [students] to think
like scientists, sociologists, or literary critics are not talking about
turning undergraduates directly into professions, the goal is to get them to think better and do better work, said Dean Graff. The best way to achieve this goal is through undergraduate research. In this way, the gap between professors and students can be bridged.

The benefits to performing undergraduate research are great and widespread. The research experience can often times be a deciding factor when it comes to graduate admissions especially, medical school. Not only is this the case, but it provide s students with real experience regarding what goes on in their field of graduate study. This is crucial because all too often, students just don’t know. When I asked Dean Gerald Graff what qualities does performing research show in a student, he said some things that, as a student, you would love to have said about you when it comes time to apply to graduate schools. Graff says that it shows that the student has an inquiring mind, is willing to get involved, and has independent judgment. It helps students develop autonomy, maturity, and critical thinking are three characteristics that are integral to success in medical school.