A Long View of Undergraduate Research: Alumni Perspectives on Inquiry, Belonging, and Vocation

Drawing from in-depth interviews with alumni across the disciplines, this book explores the benefits of undergraduate research: meaningful intellectual engagement, a sense of belonging in the campus community, and vocational clarity and career success after college. What matters to alumni about their research experience is often not what is represented in scholarship. The compelling stories featured in this text describe intellectual and emotional uncertainty and excitement; deeply personal mentoring relationships; and the powerful ways in which undergraduate research shapes and directs career paths. The book brings a novel perspective that begins during the research experience and extends into the years after college, offering practical insight into program design, mentoring, and research-to-career practices that are flexible enough to be implemented in the natural sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities. This book speaks to faculty, staff, and administrators at a wide range of institutions, regardless of experience or comfort level with undergraduate research. Supplemental resources—including discussion questions for each chapter, short videos of dialogue between undergraduate researchers and their mentors, and more—are available at www.centerforengagedlearning.org/books/a-long-view.