| Description |
Undergraduate research experiences, common among STEM majors, offer students practical skills, challenge them to enhance their abilities and help clarify career objectives. While undergraduate research programs offer numerous benefits, studies like Limeri et. al (2019) underscore potential challenges with mentors such as absenteeism, abuse of power, interpersonal mismatches, and unequal treatment by mentors. These negative experiences can lead to adverse outcomes such as a change in career plans, diminished confidence, and hindered academic progression, highlighting the importance of addressing and mitigating such issues to optimize students' research experiences. The Mentor-Relate study explored the undergraduate research experiences among 2022 US National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site participants from 78 programs. The team conducted 44 interviews over Zoom with REU participants. We coded the interview transcripts for themes related to negative experiences with their program, peers and/or mentors, showing substantial agreement between the two coders. The findings of this thesis highlight various negative experiences encountered by undergraduate students who participated in their summer 2022 REU programs. These experiences include challenges with multiple mentors, inter-student disagreements, housing concerns, and problems with program logistics and staff. There were also issues with both postgraduate and faculty mentors such as absenteeism, abuse of power, lack of support, and misaligned expectations. Cultural and language barriers with faculty were also mentioned. The study provides a comprehensive understanding of the challenges faced by undergraduate researchers and underscores the need for improved support and mentorship within REU programs. |
