Encouraging Minority Undergraduates to Choose Science Careers: Career Paths Survey Results
Encouraging Minority Undergraduates to Choose Science Careers: Career Paths Survey Results
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DOI：
10.1187/cbe.08-04-0018
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发表时间：
2008-12-01
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Sweeney, Jennifer K.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Villarejo, Merna;Barlow, Amy E. L.;Sweeney, Jennifer K.
为了探讨少数族裔在博士级生物医学研究中缺乏的原因，并找到增加少数族裔参与的机会，我们调查了一个为代表性不足的少数族裔提供的本科生物学丰富项目的高成就校友。受访者被要求描述他们的职业道路，并反思指导他们职业选择的影响。我们特别探讨了影响学生从事研究事业的态度和经历，以及与他们在医学（主要的职业选择）和基础科学之间选择相关的因素。与早期的研究一致，校友们强烈支持补充教学作为一种机制，以实现卓越的基础科学课程。本科生研究被许多人视为拓宽了领域，对最终决定攻读生物医学研究博士学位的一半校友来说，这是一种变革。这群人在大学入学时对研究职业没有兴趣，并认为他们的本科研究经历使他们走上了研究职业的道路。这些结果的政策含义是，在结构化教育充实计划的背景下，向生物学学生（包括“医学预科”学生）广泛提供本科研究机会，应该会增加选择攻读生物医学博士学位的少数民族学生的数量。
To explore the reasons for the dearth of minorities in Ph.D.-level biomedical research and identify opportunities to increase minority participation, we surveyed high-achieving alumni of an undergraduate biology enrichment program for underrepresented minorities. Respondents were asked to describe their career paths and to reflect on the influences that guided their career choices. We particularly probed for attitudes and experiences that influenced students to pursue a research career, as well as factors relevant to their choice between medicine (the dominant career choice) and basic science. In agreement with earlier studies, alumni strongly endorsed supplemental instruction as a mechanism for achieving excellence in basic science courses. Undergraduate research was seen as broadening by many and was transformative for half of the alumni who ultimately decided to pursue Ph.D.s in biomedical research. That group had expressed no interest in research careers at college entry and credits their undergraduate research experience with putting them on track toward a research career. A policy implication of these results is that making undergraduate research opportunities widely available to biology students (including "premed" students) in the context of a structured educational enrichment program should increase the number of minority students who choose to pursue biomedical Ph.D.s.