Assessing Career Readiness and Science Identity of Biology and Biomedical Graduates Engaging in a Gap Year

picture of the PI in a blue shirt outside in a park.

How do biology and biomedical science students navigate career development once they have graduated from their undergraduate institution? 

Project is Not Currently Available

This project is not being offered for the current term. Please check back next semester for updates.

Project description

For undergraduate STEM students who are discovering interests, exploring opportunities, and developing personal strengths, determining a future career path is challenging. For every student that has a clear career vision, another is struggling to identify a career path and a third is changing a career goal. Almost half of the undergraduates in a biology or biomedical sciences major choose to pursue different careers than originally intended, and many students continue to debate possible careers after their undergraduate education. How do biology and biomedical science students navigate career development once they have graduated from their undergraduate institution? This research project examines the influence of biology and biomedical sciences undergraduate programs on the development of science identity and career readiness of graduate students participating in a gap year prior to pursuing doctoral degrees or other biomedical careers. We will capture quantitative data utilizing a screening questionnaire and qualitative data through semi-structured interviews.

This study aims to:

  1. Understand the impact of career preparation resources during undergraduate experiences.
  2. Identify determining factors to pursuing the gap year.
  3. Determine the influence of the gap year on the development of career readiness and science identity. 

Project outcome

There are five main learning and project outcomes for students engaged in this project. First, the student will be trained in the responsible conduct of research and ethics in both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. These skills will prepare the student for any future research experience in any scientific field. Second, the student will learn techniques for conducting effective interviews. This is not a trivial skill and includes identifying a theoretical framework to center the interview, developing an interview protocol that allows for standardization of questions yet leaves room for discovery, and learning how to read and understand behavioral cues coming from your participants. These skills will benefit students who enter any field that includes interaction with patients, clients, and/or stakeholders. Third, the student will learn coding strategies for qualitative data analysis, including the use of MaxQDA software and data visualization options. These skills of learning new software and data visualization are directly transferrable to any future research experience. Fourth, the student will directly engage in the fundamentals of mixed-method research, i.e. the process of integrating quantitative and qualitative data to provide a more comprehensive analysis of participant data. These are highly transferrable skills that will be valuable in any future research experience. Finally, the student will directly engage in the presentation of findings, including a poster presentation at a National conference and the development and submission of a manuscript. Our lab is committed to sharing our work with the larger scientific community and we fully expect the student to be an author on all manuscripts resulting from this project. 

Project details

Timing, eligibility and other details
Length of commitment Longer than a semester; 6-9 months
Start time Spring (January/February 2025)
In-person, remote, or hybrid? Hybrid Project (Can be remote and/or in-person; to be determined by mentor and student)
Level of collaboration Individual Student Project
Benefits Stipend
Who is eligible

Sophomores

Juniors

Seniors

Core partners

  • Dr. Conner Ferguson

Project mentor

Melissa McCartney

Associate Professor

Pharmacology and Toxicology

Phone: (716) 881-8003

Email: mrm10@buffalo.edu

Start the project

  1. Email the project mentor using the contact information above to express your interest and get approval to work on the project. (Here are helpful tips on how to contact a project mentor.)
  2. After you receive approval from the mentor to start this project, click the button to start the digital badge. (Learn more about ELN's digital badge options.) 

Preparation activities

Once you begin the digital badge series, you will have access to all the necessary activities and instructions. Your mentor has indicated they would like you to also complete the specific preparation activities below. Please reference this when you get to Step 2 of the Preparation Phase. 

  • Reading seminal articles or books
  • Reviewing preliminary data
  • Familiarizing themselves with parts of the university related to career development 

Keywords

biology, biomedical sciences, pharmacology and toxicology, jacobs school of medicine and biomedical sciences, career development, quantitative, qualitative