Supporting Faculty Principal Investigators of Undergraduate Research: Motivations and Realities at an R1 Institution

• In Event: 43.024 - Examining Institutional Strategies for Success Among Transfer Students

Abstract

Undergraduate research is highly beneficial for students, yet access to these opportunities remains inequitable and limited. Building on the extant literature, this study shifts focus from the student benefits to the struggles and motivations of the faculty mentors who create undergraduate research opportunities. This qualitative case study investigated the motivations of principal investigators (PIs) of NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) sites at an R1 institution. It focused on institutional incentives and challenges that influence PI decision-making. Findings reveal motivations based on dispositional factors rather than expected benefits or institutionalized incentives. The department and department leaders emerged as a motivating factor for a subset of faculty PIs. Implications for university leaders and further research are discussed.

Author

• Coreen Davis, The University of Texas at Austin