Research on research

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports this week (subscription required) on a trio of studies that largely confirm the benefits to undergraduates of performing research, an endeavor that for a long time was the sole domain of faculty and graduate students. As we've discussed before, Carnegie Mellon has been on the vanguard of the movement to encourage and promote undergraduate research, and we believe it is worth the effort that the Chronicle indicates is necessary for it to succeed.

The article also makes mention of the summer programs that many universities offer not only for their own undergraduates but for students across the country. Several Carnegie Mellon departments offer summer research programs for undergraduates, including The Robotics Institute, the Statistics Department, the Biological Sciences Department, the Mathematical Sciences Department and the Information Systems Program. 

Jonathan Potts