Where Are They Now? Winners of a Library Prize for Undergraduate Research: A Survey at the University of California, Berkeley

Abstract

We conducted a survey of the winners of University of California (UC) Berkeley’s Library Prize for Undergraduate Research (2003-2016) to learn about the long-term impact of undergraduate research projects on students, find out what winners gained from the experience, and compare their careers post-graduation with other students. Seventy-four winners responded and reported increased academic engagement during their undergraduate experience, and demonstrated greater than average academic achievement post-graduation. The winners became more confident of their research skills and their aptitude for post-graduate work as a result of winning. More than 3 times as many prize winners went on to graduate school as the typical UC graduate. We also examined usage statistics of winning papers that had been posted to UC’s open access publishing platform and observed that papers continue to be accessed by the general public years after students graduate.