Fear of the CURE: A Beginner’s Guide to Overcoming Barriers in Creating a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience

Abstract

Over the past decade, growing evidence has shown that there are many benefits to undergraduate students engaging in scientific research, including increased persistence in pursuing STEM careers and successful outcomes in graduate study. With these benefits in mind, there has been a significant push toward providing research opportunities for students in STEM majors. To address this need, an increasing number of undergraduate courses have been developed to provide students with research experiences in a class setting, also known as course-based undergraduate research experiences, or CUREs. Despite the growing success of these courses, a number of barriers remain that deter faculty from developing and implementing CUREs. Here, we will review the perceived challenges of developing a CURE and provide practical strategies to overcome these challenges.