The Freshman Research Initiative: Results from a Model Cure

National efforts to transform undergraduate biology education call for research experiences to be an integral component of learning for all students. Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences, or CUREs, have been championed for engaging students in research at a scale that is not possible through apprenticeships in faculty research laboratories. Yet, there are few if any studies that examine the long-term effects of participating in CUREs on desired student outcomes, such as graduating from college and graduating with a STEM major. One CURE program, the Freshman Research Initiative (FRI), has engaged >6,000 undergraduates over the past decade. Using propensity score matching to control for student-level differences, we tested the effect of participating in FRI on students’ probability of graduating with a STEM degree, probability of graduating within six years, and GPA at graduation. Students who completed FRI were significantly more likely than their non-FRI peers to earn a STEM degree and graduate within six years. FRI had no significant effect on students’ cumulative GPA at graduation. The effects were similar for diverse students. These results provide the most robust and best controlled evidence to date to support calls for widespread involvement of undergraduates in research early in their academic careers.