Engaging in independent research adds immeasurably to the richness of undergraduate education and provides special intellectual and personal rewards. No matter how the opportunity is packaged - the senior thesis at Princeton, undergraduate research opportunities at MIT or Stanford, or any of the many modes at other colleges and universities - the research experience challenges and stretches students in ways that cannot be replicated even in the most rigorous and demanding course work.

At the heart of the experience is the opportunity to engage in original research on a topic of the student's own devising, with the guidance and supervision of a faculty adviser. What is most important is less the subject matter itself than the contribution of the research project in developing traits that augur well for future success, no matter what the student's subsequent professional activities and civic commitments. These traits include mental discipline; independence of mind and judgment; the capacity to focus and pursue a subject in depth; the ability to design and execute a complex project; the skills of analysis, synthesis, and exposition; and the self-confidence that grows from mastering a difficult challenge. At its best, the research experience enables students to make their own contribution to knowledge in their respective disciplines.

The experience of Princeton students and faculty in writing and advising senior theses yields insights about the benefits of engaging in independent research that have broad applicability across institutions.

For Princeton seniors, the thesis affords the chance to pick a topic that is uniquely theirs: a topic that may grow directly from course work in the field of concentration, a topic that may draw on broad intellectual interests in several fields, a topic that may be inspired by family history, personal commitments, work experience, or community service. Chosen properly, the topic will be compelling enough to draw the student to the library or laboratory, engaging enough to inspire conversation with fellow students and faculty, complicated enough to provide experience in navigating detours and recouping from false starts, interesting enough to live with over an extended period of time, and original enough to afford the opportunity to make a contribution to scholarship.

Once the topic has been chosen, the next challenge is to formulate the specific questions the research will attempt to answer. Even if the topic itself seems not to be strikingly original, by asking new questions and looking for fresh insights, the student can produce an original piece of work that advances our understanding of the subject.

Two aspects of the thesis experience stand out: the chance to do something original, distinctive, personally important, and "truly new"; and the "exhilaration" of working closely with a faculty adviser. Listen to some recent thesis-writers at Princeton:

"For the first time in my life, I felt passionate about an issue…. I wanted to dig deeper into the…questions; I wanted to search for my own answers."

"I am a hands-on person, and I felt as though I was finally applying the book knowledge I'd gained in my classes."

"One of the most exciting aspects of the senior thesis for me was being responsible for original research, rather than merely summarizing the work of others."

"I feel an immense sense of satisfaction at having produced a truly new piece of work."

"One of the highlights of the thesis experience, aside from generating original research, is working closely with a faculty member who has vast experience and knowledge in your area of interest."

And success in writing a thesis translates into assurance about meeting future challenges:

"The most rewarding thing about writing a thesis is the skill set that you walk away with. I am now able to manage my time effectively and efficiently, organize my responsibilities, and utilize the resources I have around me. The thesis-writing process itself empowered me with a confidence that I can succeed in all that I do."

The rewards go not only to the thesis-writer, but to the faculty adviser. As the advisers themselves attest, some of the pleasure comes from intellectual collaboration:

"The opportunity to engage in collaborative research with a Princeton undergraduate is one of the most rewarding aspects of life as a Princeton professor. Like most professors on this campus, I suppose, I find the world and activity of research thrilling. Watching the first steps of an eager student into this world is always exciting. Walking into the research world together, which happens when the student chooses to join me in my own research, combines the best of these experiences."

"The collaborative nature of the advising experience is what I typically find most rewarding…. Having a student become passionate about…issues [you care about] and become expert enough to work as a true colleague on a project is perhaps the most fulfilling thing a researcher can ask for."

Part of the pleasure comes in reordering the balance between teacher and student:

"Most satisfying…is the partial reversal of the usual roles of teacher and student. The idea, or the hunch, is the student's to start with; she has to think through its implications and the proper way of articulating its skeleton; and she finally has to put flesh on the bones during those late-night/early morning sessions at the keyboard. I'm here to help out along the way, to question and probe and make suggestions, but the student is the leader, the person on whom the enterprise really depends."

"The relation between adviser and advisee, asymmetrical to begin with, began to change, as I began to learn from the fruit of her work. This is the single most rewarding part of advising seniors: the fundamental reciprocity of the learning-teaching experience."

And in the best of circumstances, the student's work changes the way the adviser thinks:

"[My advisee] addressed…topics that I had considered, taught, and written about before. But our year of cooperation gave me ideas I had not had before - and by that I mean not only that I had new thoughts; I also mean that I found myself correcting errors I had made, changing my mind, realizing that issues I had not thought significant actually counted, and questions I had thought important might be well left aside."

"Because her angle on the material was so fresh, [her] thesis taught me a great deal about two authors I had already known rather well."

"Did I learn from this thesis? It has significantly changed the way I read those two literary pillars of my professional life."

"Truth be told, the most satisfying moments of thesis advising are, simultaneously, the most humbling. They can best be summed up under the simple heading: 'Hey, why didn't I think of that?'"

Undergraduates in Research: A Comprehensive Approach
Ellen Woods, Senior Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, Stanford University

There may be no institution more optimistic in its core missions than a research university. As Henry Rosovsky puts it in The University, An Owner's Manual, "Research, especially academic research, is a form of optimism about the human condition." Each discovery promises the possibility of a better life and a better world. Undergraduate education demonstrates a similar commitment to improving the human condition both individually, one person at a time, and collectively, for each future generation.

The connection between faculty research and undergraduate education has traditionally been expressed through teaching: professors infuse their courses with new discoveries and modify the curriculum to reflect the creation and evolution of knowledge in their field. But the Boyer Commission report and the Reinvention Center activities challenge research universities to reformulate this connection so that students and faculty can take full advantage of the special character of the research university. Undergraduate education should bring students into closer connection with the research enterprise as partners with faculty in research.

To foster these research partnerships, all components of undergraduate education should be consciously structured in a comprehensive approach toward the goal of preparing all students to become involved in research. Two factors characterize successful undergraduate researchers: a close association with a faculty mentor and an inquiring habit of mind. These characteristics should be nurtured through a carefully crafted pattern of progressively organized educational opportunities, starting in the students' first year, progressing through their choice of major, and culminating in meaningful participation in the research of a faculty member or an independent research project.

At every stage of this continuum, the mentoring relationship is key. As research mentors, faculty members affirm the value of active learning. They challenge students to go beyond acquiring information to transforming it creatively into knowledge, thereby developing the inquiring habit of mind. The mentoring relationship itself embodies the values and process of scholarly research. Curious about some issue or problem, a scholar gets an idea, shares it with a colleague and discusses it critically. He or she conducts research to test and explore the dimensions of the idea, drawing from the field's perspective and methods. He or she may present a talk at a conference and write about the discovery, thus broadening the community of colleagues with whom the idea is shared. In response to critical questions leading to further research, he or she revises and rethinks the findings. This iterative process that distinguishes academic scholarship also characterizes the faculty/student interaction. Faculty mentors model the research process interactively with their students; the research partnership thus brings to life the educational experience of scholarship. Mutual interests inspire both professor and student toward high levels of achievement, and a natural community of scholars evolves over the course of the project.

The structure of the research university is decentralized by its very nature and the demands of the research enterprise - such as graduate education and disciplinary obligations - create enormous tensions for faculty who set undergraduate education as a high priority. A comprehensive approach to bringing more faculty and students into productive research partnerships goes against the grain of fragmentation and decentralization that characterizes the autonomous activities of research and teaching. Such an approach requires multiple strategies, ideally drawn into an integrated and coordinated whole under the vision and leadership of a central administrative office such as that of a vice president or provost, that target faculty, departments, research centers and institutes, and the students themselves. When they succeed, these strategies truly reflect the optimism that is at the heart of research universities.

Princeton University: The Senior Thesis

Requiring undergraduates to write a senior thesis sets Princeton apart from other colleges and universities. The thesis presumes that through the foundational work of general education and the focused study of departmental concentration, undergraduates develop the capacity to engage in independent study in their chosen fields. The thesis gives the student the opportunity to pursue original research on a topic of the student's own choosing, with the guidance and supervision of a faculty adviser. As such, the thesis enables students to apply a craft that they have spent years studying and, at best, to make their own contribution to knowledge in their respective disciplines.

Most academic departments assign thesis advisers early in the fall of the senior year, attempting insofar as possible to take account of student preferences. The adviser works with the student through the year, although in practice the advising becomes more intense during the spring term. Some students begin their research over the previous summer.

The thesis topic is chosen in consultation between the adviser and the student. Some students come to the process with a specific topic already in mind; others develop the topic in discussion with their advisers. The experience of doing junior independent work (also required of all students) provides a preview of the research strategies and writing skills needed for the senior thesis. Sometimes the thesis grows directly from the junior paper.

The typical thesis is a substantial written report based on scholarly investigation or scientific experimentation. Some students produce creative theses, including novels, plays, collections of poetry or short stories, films, photography exhibits, and dance performances.

Funding to support some of the expenses that may be involved in thesis research is available from academic departments, from endowments administered by the Office of the Dean of the College, and from alumni class funds.

For further information, consult Nancy Weiss Malkiel (nweiss@princeton.edu) or Richard G. Williams (rgw@princeton.edu), respectively Dean and Associate Dean of the College.

In the past five years Stanford has put in place a model that involves students, faculty, departments, and administration in a carefully designed progression of academic experiences that guides students from one level of research to the next. This is accomplished by two major initiatives administered by the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education: Stanford Introductory Studies (SIS) and Undergraduate Research Programs (URP). These provide a pathway through the research university that emphasizes mentoring and active learning, with the ultimate goal of increasing the number of students who reach the level of independent research. The Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education also organizes activities to bring together the faculty from across the university who are engaged in these initiatives.

An outline of the Stanford model is provided here. For a more detailed discussion, please click here to read the expanded version of this essay.

Stanford Introductory Studies
Stanford Introductory Studies (SIS) represents a re-conceptualization of education in the first two years. It consists of required first-year general education courses and elective introductory seminars, both of which contribute uniquely to preparing students for participation in research. The required year-long Introduction to the Humanities course sequence [http://ihum.Stanford.edu] is team-taught by faculty members from different humanities disciplines, who offer multiple approaches to the interpretation of selected texts and challenge students to decide for themselves which approach yields the most convincing meaning. These foundations are reinforced by the Program in Writing and Rhetoric [http://pwr.Stanford.edu], in which workshop-format courses are supplemented by one-on-one conferences. In addition, Stanford Introductory Seminars [http://introsems.stanford.edu] offer over 200 small elective classes for freshmen and sophomores on topics typically drawn from the professor's current research. The seminar approaches one form of pedagogical ideal - a small class where students elect to study what the research faculty elect to teach!

Extending SIS Programs Beyond the Freshman Year Sophomore College, a residential program before the opening of the autumn term, gives about a quarter of the class access to the seminar experience in an intensive time-compressed format [http://soco.stanford.edu]. In Sophomore Seminars, faculty focus on directing students toward committing to a field of concentration and on identifying potential student researchers.

Undergraduate Research Programs
Students working on independent projects, primarily for departmental honors, had been well served for almost two decades by a student grant program, Undergraduate Research Opportunities [http://uro.stanford.edu]. To expand access to research opportunities for students who were not ready for or interested in designing and conducting independent work, the Vice Provost established two pilot grant programs: one that supported department-wide undergraduate research programs and another that provided funds for individual faculty to involve students in their research projects. In 2000-01, all three categories of support were consolidated into the Undergraduate Research Programs (URP) [http://urp.stanford.edu] office. To make the full resources of the research university available to undergraduates, the URP also extends support to research institutes such as the Humanities Center, Hoover Institution, the Institute for International Study, and the Stanford Linear Accelerator. Most participating departments and institutes did not previously have an effective way to publicize faculty research and locate undergraduates interested in working on projects. Hundreds of students are now working on research projects with hundreds of faculty through the expanded URP grant programs. Many of the participating faculty work with students whom they met as freshmen or sophomores in an SIS class. Most of these students plan to undertake independent honors projects under the supervision of the faculty member, thus completing the progression from SIS to honors.

Berkeley's model for undergraduate research stems from the diversity and range of its offerings - a smorgasbord of opportunities rather than a single well-worn path.

An outline of them is provided. For more detailed discussion, please click here.

Students typically follow a natural progression from apprenticing on faculty research projects, to developing independent projects, to seeking opportunities for publication and presentation. Within this sequence, Berkeley offers multiple opportunities for students to forge their own unique paths. The Office of Undergraduate Research serves as a virtual and physical gateway to the rich array of opportunities. The office serves as a clearinghouse to help undergraduates access research opportunities, rather than as an administrative unit to centralize programs under one roof. The office sponsors a Web site [http://research.berkeley.edu] that links to campus undergraduate research programs and opportunities, offers ongoing workshops and downloadable documents for students on how to get involved in research, and provides advising and related services.

Through the Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program (URAP) [http://research.berkeley.edu/urap], over 400 students annually apprentice on faculty research projects across all majors, departments, and schools. A select group of students receive summer support to continue their apprenticeships. The College of Engineering's program [http://www.coe.berkeley.edu/Students/uro/index.html] offers a more focussed array of apprenticeships only open to Engineering majors. Many other students find opportunities through their major departments, serendipitous encounters, or their own persistent legwork. This is especially true in the sciences and engineering where virtually every lab involves undergraduates and many faculty find students outside of formal structures. As one former physics major counseled peers aspiring to be undergraduate researchers, "seek and ye shall find."[http://research.berkeley.edu/haas_scholars/documents/physcimentor.html]

To further recognize and promote undergraduate research, the Deans of the College of Letters & Science inaugurated a new award in Spring 2001 to honor individual faculty who have done exceptional service as undergraduate research mentors.

Once students have gained foundational skills both in and outside the classroom, many go on to initiate independent research under faculty sponsorship, through independent studies or senior thesis courses. In addition to departmentally-based opportunities, a number of campus programs offer funding to permit more ambitious and enriched research experiences. Small grants are available for students to travel to collect data or to present their research findings at professional meetings [http://research.berkeley.edu/travel/]. Campus programs such as the McNair Scholars Program [http://www-mcnair.berkeley.edu/] and the Haas Scholars Program [http://research.berkeley.edu/Haas_scholars] offer the experience of participating with an interdisciplinary cohort of advanced undergraduate researchers.

Berkeley has been a pioneer in expanding undergraduate research into the non-laboratory disciplines, involving students in humanities research that is more traditionally done solo rather than as part of a team. Recent student projects include assembling bibliographies and researching archival images. In 2000/2001, the Townsend Center for the Humanities, which primarily serves faculty and graduate students, partnered for the first time with URAP to invite URAP apprentices to join two of the Center's working groups.

One of the most exciting aspects of participating in the creation of knowledge is getting to share those accomplishments publicly. Opportunities abound on campus, from departmentally-sponsored poster sessions to interdisciplinary research symposia. The most accomplished students may travel off-campus to participate in professional conferences and a few fortunate undergraduate researchers may co-author professional papers with their faculty mentors. Berkeley is home to two long-standing student-run undergraduate research journals, the Berkeley Undergraduate Journal in the Humanities and Social Sciences [http://learning.berkeley.edu/buj/index.html] and Berkeley Scientific [http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~bsj/]. Start-up journals also emerge, fueled by student energy. Notable recent examples include The Thinker, created by students in Cognitive Science, and Clio's Scroll in the History Department. These journals are exciting venues for publication of student research and provide opportunities for undergraduates to take on other roles as peer reviewers, editors, designers and business managers, all contributing to the production and dissemination of new knowledge.

The University of Delaware believes that the development of its undergraduates into productive, proactive citizens is best accomplished in an environment of discovery where research and education are, at all levels, integrated pursuits. The key to successful integration of research and education is the faculty. The first level of integration occurs directly in individual faculty research programs where undergraduate students along with graduate students are collaborators in the research of over 60% of our faculty. Over 90% of the faculty in engineering, physical, and life sciences; over 80% of those in social, behavioral, and economic sciences; 60% in humanities; 56% in art; and 55% in mathematical sciences supervise undergraduate research. Between 600 and 700 undergraduates are working in faculty research collaborations at any one time. They are served by the Undergraduate Research Program (www.udel.edu/UR), an academic support unit founded in 1980 that operates under the auspices of the University Provost through the Office of Undergraduate Studies. The Program helps departments connect undergraduates with appropriate faculty researchers and provides university resources to units developing special undergraduate research programs. It also provides financial assistance for research-related expenses and about 200 full summer research scholarships annually. The Program sponsors numerous opportunities for students to present ongoing work, among them a university-wide senior thesis program through which students prepare a research proposal, make oral presentations of research-in-progress, establish a formal thesis committee, and give an oral defense of their thesis.

The second level of integration takes place in classrooms dedicated to active, research-based student learning. Although not all undergraduates can experience research collaborations with faculty, all can experience research-based discovery learning in their course curricula. Since 1992, UD faculty have pioneered the development of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) for undergraduate education (www.udel.edu/pbl). Faculty obtain training in PBL through workshops and follow-up support offered through UD's Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education (www.udel.edu/inst). ITUE makes available a number of fellowships each year for faculty who wish to receive training through the Institute. Over one-third of UD's entire faculty have taken the workshops and are making use of discovery-based pedagogy in their courses. Further, substantial resources are newly available through the UD General Education Fund for faculty who wish to redesign a general education course or develop a new one to optimize a pedagogy of discovery learning (www.udel.edu/cte).

To support undergraduate research and inquiry-based pedagogy, UD takes advantage of the fact that it is a residential university to initiate incoming undergraduates into an environment of discovery learning. Living-Learning communities are provided for students' first-year experience through two programs, the University Honors Program (www.udel.edu/honors) and LIFE (Learning Integrated Freshman Experience) Program (www.udel.edu/life). Together these communities currently serve approximately 20% of the first-year class. Expansion is planned to make the LIFE learning communities available to all first-year students. Living-Learning communities are also available for upper class students through special interest housing.

Finally, the University faculty have resolved by 2003 to require of every UD graduate an integrative Capstone Experience within the major and a Discovery Learning Experience outside the classroom that allows every student, whether in the research endeavor itself or in an internship, service-learning, or other field experience, to develop the ability to integrate knowledge and skills gained through academic inquiry with experiences beyond the classroom (www.udel.edu/facsen/reports/genedrpt1.htm).