A Closer Look

I have given College admissions tours for three years, and I can attest that parents want to know about the University’s reputation as a research institution. They ask, “How will the University’s focus on research affect my kids’ education?” It is a valid concern, because serious scholarship requires a large commitment of time and resources that could be redirected to the undergraduate curriculum. I used to answer the question by explaining that the prestige of our faculty and reputation as a university depended on the dedication to intellectual inquiry and resulting publications. This answer successfully casts research in a favorable light for the institution, but it does not adequately address the question on the level of students.

A growing number of undergraduates are realizing that incorporating research into their curriculum enhances their education in the most exciting ways.

Students interested in research gain the immediate benefit of meaningful interaction with the faculty. For first years unsure what to talk about with their professors, asking about their research is a good place to start. Whether the inquiry leads to a 15-minute conversation, a semester-long dialogue or part in an actual project, I find that professors are excited to share their intellectual pursuits. Either as research assistants or advisees, students share the experience of intellectual challenge, frustration and discovery that fosters mentorship beyond being a mere adviser. My own experience with research as an undergraduate has been most rewarding.

As a second-year student I asked a professor several questions about the future of the bioethics field. The inquiry led to my accompanying him and several colleagues representing the Institute for Practical Ethics to London, Oxford, Geneva and Prague for a summer of making contacts and uncovering many more questions to answer. My experience is less out of the ordinary than you might expect; several of my peers have taken advantage of research grants that sent them all over the globe. These experiences and the intimacy research has fostered with senior faculty members open doors to future opportunities in graduate school and beyond.

The type of learning one may experience in the research process is different from the learning in the classroom. Research encourages curiosity, problem-solving and creative thinking that cannot be found in a lecture. By trying and failing and gathering the courage to try again, an undergraduate researcher has a hands-on self-discovery roller coaster. Students find out firsthand their true interest in a focused discipline and how they might pursue a career within it.

The research process also challenges students in surprising ways — standards of academic integrity and personal ethics are tested at every level of involvement. Success in completing an independent research project gives students agency and purposefulness in their curriculum. It helps foster a more meaningful and coherent course of study. New ways of thinking, persistence, self-discovery, integrity and reflection are skills that go hand in hand with academic research; these are skills I will use for the rest of my life.

I now have a perfect answer for parents who want to know how research will affect their child’s education. I tell them that taking advantage of the research opportunities at U.Va. provides the best of all worlds. You have immediate access to world-class faculty and an open book of possibilities where your intellectual curiosity can take you.

Our University is fortunate to have a structure in which to become involved as an undergraduate interested in research. You join a community of students who are so excited about undergraduate research that they meet for weekly workshops, publish a journal and sponsor formal symposia. This community is supported by faculty members and administrators who are equally excited to share their research and accumulated wisdom. You also join a community of scholarship that extends beyond the serpentine walls and 21st-century U.Va. You join a community of scholarship dedicated to the noble pursuit of knowledge — one that inspired Mr. Jefferson to found this institution 175 years ago and that will make the world a better place 175 years from now.