14.1 Undergraduate Research Statement

The American Physical Society calls upon the nation’s four-year colleges and universities and their physics and astronomy departments to provide or facilitate access to research experiences for all undergraduate physics and astronomy majors.

Context

Research experiences provide students with many benefits, including skills in problem definition, project design, open-ended problem solving, use of modern instruments and techniques, data collection and analysis, analytical and computational modeling, and communication of evidence-based technical arguments. These skills are of great value to students as they go on to engage in careers in science, engineering, business, education, or government. Participation in research has been shown to increase retention in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) degree programs, support students’ decisions to pursue STEM careers, and enable students to move more effectively from the classroom to professional practice.