Abstract
There is an obvious pool from which to draw these additional scientists: the students who intend to major in science when they enter college of whom only 33% persist in science majors to graduation. Women and students who are members of ethnic minorities leave science majors at higher frequencies than white men. For example, attrition of black men from science majors is twice that of white men. This is particularly troubling in light of the steady increase in interest in science among minority students, who are now entering college intent upon a science major in the same proportions as majority students.
Most of the attrition occurs in the first year and is associated with enrollment in introductory science courses. Many educators are surprised to learn that the proportional loss of students from science majors is similar regardless of the type of institution and quality of student performance before they abandon science. The departure of students from science majors is often spoken about with great pride among scientists who conclude that it is the difficulty of their discipline and the rigor of their courses that weeds out those who don't belong. But studies of the factors driving students away from science indicate that this is not the typical story. More often, the students leave because they think that science is simply a large collection of facts to be memorized and not a discipline of creativity and discovery. Students frequently report that they abandoned science majors because they desire careers that require them to think. Now, how ironic is that?
There are many ways to tweak retention in science, but one approach stands out as most effective. Engaging students in research during their first 2 years of college is a powerful way to keep them interested in science. It appears that after experiencing the challenge and thrill of scientific discovery, they are motivated to persist through the courses that typically drive students away from science. Memorizing facts makes more sense once the students have a reason to need those facts for their own research, and participating in research naturally engages them in a community, another positive influence on students' choice of majors.
Most undergraduates' research experiences occur in the junior and senior years. These endeavors influence students' career choices within science, but many probably would persist in science until graduation if they had survived the first 2 years, so the later research experiences may have little impact on retention. In contrast, involving students in research during their freshman and sophomore years significantly influences persistence in science majors. Therefore, we need to find more ways to engage students in research experiences early to pique their interest in science early and sustain it through courses that they might otherwise find quite dreary.
Involving undergraduates in research can and should be rewarding to the students and their mentors. The eagerness and energy that most undergraduates bring to the lab, coupled with their frequently insightful, naive questions that can change the way others think about science, can imbue the experience of mentoring undergraduate researchers with richness and worthwhile outcomes.
This issue of DNA and Cell Biology highlights undergraduates in the research lab. The highlighted articles in this issue resulted from projects in which undergraduates played a substantive role. This lovely display of youthful success in science should encourage us all to take undergraduates into the research lab early in their college experience. The earlier they start, the longer they are likely to spend in the lab. The longer their tenure in the lab, the likelier it is that they will contribute significantly to the research enterprise to return sufficient research productivity to compensate the lab for the time spent training them. And the more likely they are to persist in science majors.
The research is clear on two points: we will need a lot more scientists than we will produce at current rates over the next decade, and early research experiences encourage students to persist in science. The workforce challenge is easily met by a simple remedy in our research universities. Now community will needs to match the national need.