The Impact of Undergraduate Research Training on Students' Post Graduation Plans

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2020-09-29

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The Houston-area Opportunities for Undergraduate Student Training in Obesity & Nutrition (HOUSTON) Academy is housed in the Department of Health and Human Performance. The HOUSTON Academy provides undergraduate students from institutions across the US with applied research and nutrition learning experiences through support from the United States Department of Agriculture. By engaging in research projects, students are exposed to research-related careers pertaining to food insecurity, obesity/weight management, and nutrition. Students obtain research skills by assisting with recruitment and retention of research participants, data collection, data entry, presenting research at internal/external conferences, and assisting with manuscript preparation. During their first semester in HOUSTON Academy students respond to the Survey of Undergraduate Research Experiences III at the start and end of the semester. Results (n=29) indicate that 62% of the students had no prior research experience. Also, there was an increased in the percentage of students that could visualize what it meant to be a career scientist (20.7% to 41.4%, z=-1.70, p=0.044). There was an increased interest in the percentage of students wanting to pursue a PhD or MD/OD, but small sample sizes contributed to non-significance. Exposing undergraduate students to experiential learning experiences increases their interest in research-related fields post-graduation.

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