Inclusion of the Forgotten: Structuring a More Accessible Undergraduate Summer Research Experience

Summer undergraduate research experiences typically target the student who already demonstrates social capital by being able to submit a competitive application, travel across the country for the experience, and participate in the experience for a typically minimum wage. These experiences also usually require students to live in a dorm away from their homes and not hold a second job. There are many students, who for a variety of reasons, cannot leave town to participate in a summer research experience. We describe in this paper a summer undergraduate research experience that was targeted for local students who could not leave home, with deliberate experiences for value added to the mentored research experience. This program was well-received by the students and gave them the research experiences and skills they were seeking to develop their portfolio to continue in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) careers. This paper serves as a call to action to national STEM education professionals and funding agencies to reconsider the funding mechanisms for summer research experiences to encourage and support programs for place bound students.