Creating a Pathway to Expand Representation of Underrepresented Students in Applied Sociological Research: An Undergraduate Applied Research Program

Abstract

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields have been encouraged to expand and diversify the pipeline between undergraduate students and STEM professions. The field of sociology, however, has often been left out of these discussions. This teaching note examines a pilot program geared toward expanding applied research opportunities for underrepresented undergraduate students at a large, public, minority-serving institution in the Southwest. This program pairs selected students with two main faculty mentors as they collaboratively conduct applied research. In addition to describing the pilot program, this research note presents results from a participatory evaluation study of the first year of this program, highlighting the perceived benefits and challenges of the program from the perspective of participating students from the first-year cohort and faculty.