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Undergraduate research gives you the opportunity to:
- see if a life science career or graduate studies is for you
- gain insight into the lives and work of people who pursue knowledge as a career
- experience one-on-one guidance from a faculty mentor
- strengthen the quality of your undergraduate education by applying classroom knowledge and learning to new situations
- develop a better sense of how to formulate questions
- challenge yourself and experience a sense of discovery
- gain confidence in your skills and abilities and identify areas for building
- learn more about what intrigues you in the life sciences
- connect with a community of peers with similar interests
- further develop your skills in problem solving, critical thinking, and communication
- improve your ability to work collaboratively
- strengthen your application to post-baccalaureate education opportunities
- learn new ways of seeing things and present a fresh point of view
- contribute to ASU's quest to further knowledge and to help the community and society meet scientific, technological, environmental, economic, and social challenges
Here's why some ASU undergraduates decided to get involved in research:
- "I wanted to be able to learn skills and concepts from a variety of people who were all working in the lab together so that I could get lots of different angles on information. I wanted to see how different people who were doing similar research thought about the problems they were working on. In a way I guess, I wanted to compare my thinking and the questions I came up with others that I heard."
- "I had no idea of whether I wanted to work in industry or go to grad school or pursue a career in medicine. I just wanted to see what it was like to do research...I wanted to see if it was something I actually enjoyed...before I made any longer-term commitments."
- "I wanted to be in a situation where I could ask questions any time I had them and have someone oversee what I was doing. When you are doing research there's always somebody like the graduate students around...and they are willing to discuss ideas and questions without making you feel inferior because of your lack of knowledge and experience. I wanted to get guidance and just experience different thinking methods."
- "Even though I thought I wanted a career in the life sciences there was this bit of uncertainty about what it would be like. I wanted to know if my tremendous curiosity would be sparked or just what it would be like."
- "I knew I wanted to know more about science. I wanted to know how my personality and inherent biases would impact the kind of research I did. I wanted to learn more about how I would go about interpreting results and I wanted to find out how results became publications. It seemed like the only way to figure this out was to get involved in research and learn the value of science as a tool."
- "I wanted to increase my scientific knowledge and read publications related to what I was doing. I wanted the opportunity to be in the field and interacting with a mentor and other peers who loved science."
- "I wanted to meet scientists, make contacts, and see the different pathways that people find to get where they are."
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