Special Issue: Developing Career Readiness through Undergraduate Research Participation (Fall 2025)

Undergraduate research is a high-impact educational practice that supports meaningful student growth which includes the development of communication skills, collaborative abilities, confidence, and career planning and preparation (Campbell, 2022; Laursen et al., 2010; Osborn and Karukstis, 2009; Kuh, 2008; Lopatto, 2003). The skills that students develop though participation in undergraduate research are believed to support their career development and entry into the workforce/graduate programs, and are thought to position them for success in their future careers. Informed by the results from the annual Job Outlook Survey, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) identified eight career readiness competencies for students entering the workforce (National Association of Colleges and Employers, 2021). These eight competencies include: Career & Self Development, Communication, Critical Thinking, Equity and Inclusion, Leadership, Professionalism, Teamwork, and Technology. Recently, the undergraduate research community and the Council for Undergraduate Research have cast a spotlight on the association between career readiness and undergraduate research. However, what is needed are clear guideposts indicating how the skills that employers find compelling are fostered through participation in undergraduate research.

In this call for manuscripts, we invite authors to reflect on how UR participation supports career readiness, what approaches to UR have been effective in supporting the development of career readiness, what programming has been effective for UR mentoring approaches related to student gains in career readiness, how have partnerships between institutional units helped to foster student researchers’ career readiness, and what may be important considerations/next steps to further support student career readiness through UR participation.

The editorial team is interested in manuscripts that build on key scholarship and help us better understand:

  • How we can foster career readiness and career competence through undergraduate research (e.g., Newell and Ulrich, 2022) and what practices/approaches appear to be particularly impactful (MacDonald et al., 2024)
  • How do various mentoring models for UR support the development of career readiness, including
    • Mentoring for course embedded research (e.g., CUREs; Wuetherick et al., 2018)
      Co-mentoring of UR (Ketcham et al., 2018)
    • Constellations of mentors for UR (Thurman & Vandermaas-Peeler, 2023; Vandermaas-Peeler, Allocco, & Moore, 2023)
    • Mentoring student development in UR for career readiness (Mekolichick, 2023, 2021; Hall et al., 2018)
  • Educational development for faculty mentors in UR (Baker et al., 2018; Moore & Felten, 2018; Healey & Jenkins, 2018)
  • Ways to assess student learning gains and mentor and program effectiveness (Lopatto, 2023)

The editorial team encourages manuscripts that address justice, equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging (JEDI-B) when thinking about undergraduate research outcomes and career readiness.
Authors may submit case studies, practitioner pieces (e.g., program descriptions or novel idea descriptions), literature reviews, or original empirical research studies. Submissions may have student authors or co-authors. For more information about the types of articles accepted by PURM, please visit the website at https://www.elon.edu/u/academics/undergraduate-research/purm/for-authors/.

PURM is an open-access, multidisciplinary, peer-reviewed online journal supporting the mission of undergraduate research and the programs that strive to provide undergraduate students opportunities to participate in scholarly activities with faculty mentors. PURM’s unique focus on the process of undergraduate research and mentoring rather than the products of these activities provides a space for the growing undergraduate research community to share experiences, opportunities, concerns, and challenges in a rigorous, professional venue.

To be considered for the Special Issue on Developing Career Readiness through Undergraduate Research Participation, to be published in February 2026, manuscripts must be received by September 8, 2025. Full submission guidelines may be found at https://www.elon.edu/u/academics/undergraduate-research/purm/for-authors/. Any questions regarding PURM, the submission and review process, or article inquiries for the Special Issue may be directed to Dr. Paul Miller (PURM@elon.edu). All other inquiries may be directed to Dr. Jen Hamel, Editor-in-Chief of PURM (jhamel2@elon.edu).

References:

Baker, V. L., Greer, J., Lunsford, L. G., Ihas, D., & Pifer, M. J. (2018). Supporting faculty development for mentoring in undergraduate research, scholarship and creative work. In M. Vandermaas-Peeler, P. C. Miller, & J. L. Moore (Eds.), Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduate Research (pp. 131–154). Council on Undergraduate Research.

Campbell, W.E., (2022). The Power of Undergraduate Research. In Undergraduate Research in Online, Virtual, and Hybrid Courses: Proactive Practices for Distant Students, edited by J.G. Coleman, N.H. Hensel, and W.E. Campbell, 9–22. Sterling, VA: Stylus.

Laursen, S., Hunter, A-B., Seymour, E., Thiry, H., & Melton, G. (2010). Undergraduate Research in the Sciences: Engaging Students in Real Science. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Hall, E. E., Walkington, H., Shanahan, J. O., Ackley, E., & Stewart, K. A. (2018). Mentor perspectives on the place of undergraduate research mentoring in academic identity and career development: An analysis of award winning mentors. International Journal for Academic Development, 23(1), 15–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2017.1412972

Healey, M., & Jenkins, A. (2018). The role of academic developers in embedding high-impact undergraduate research and inquiry in mainstream higher education: Twenty years’ reflection. International Journal for Academic Development, 23(1), 52–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2017.1412974

Ketcham, C. J., Hall, E. E., Fitz-Gibbons, H., & Walkington, H. (2018). Co-mentoring in undergraduate research: A faculty development perspective. In M. Vandermaas-Peeler, P. C. Miller, & J. Moore (Eds.), Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduate Research (pp. 155–179). Council for Undergraduate Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2018.1415033

Kuh, G. (2008). High-Impact Educational Practices. AAC&U. ISBN: 978-0-9796181-4-7.

Lopatto, D. (2003). The Essential Features of Undergraduate Research. Council on Undergraduate Research Quarterly 23 (3): 139–42

Lopatto, D. (2023). Quantitative methods in the assessment of undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative inquiry. Scholarship and Practice of Undergraduate Research, 7.2, 5-12.

MacDonald, A.B., Mekolichick, J., Hall, E.E., Picardo, K., & Richards, R. (2024). A Scoping Review: Literature on Undergraduate Research and Career Readiness. Scholarship and Practice of Undergraduate Research 8 (1): 3-14. https://doi.org/10.18833/spur/8/1/2.

Mekolichick, J. (2021). Mapping the Impacts of Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Inquiry Experiences to the NACE Career Readiness Competencies. NACE Journal. https://www.naceweb.org/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/individuals-with-disabilities/ready-willing-but-still-underemployed/0f654274-aed4-41ec-a6d5-5eba2a535aa2.

Mekolichick, J. (2023). A Position Paper: Recognizing Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, & Creative Inquiry as a Career-Readiness Tool. Washington D.C.: Council on Undergraduate Research.

Moore, J. L., & Felten, P. (2018). Academic development in support of mentored undergraduate research and inquiry. International Journal for Academic Development, 23(1), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2018.1415020

National Association of Colleges and Employers. 2021. “Competencies for a Career-Ready Workforce.” https://www.naceweb.org/uploadedfiles/files/2021/resources/nace-career-readiness-competencies-revised-apr-2021.pdf.

Newell, M. & Ulrich, P. (2022). Competent and Employed: STEM Alumni Perspectives on Undergraduate Research and NACE Career-Readiness Competencies. Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability 13 (1): 79–93. https://doi.org/10.21153/jtlge2022vol13no1art1534.

Osborn, J.M., and Karukstis, K.K. (2009). The Benefits of Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity. In Broadening Participation in Undergraduate Research: Fostering Excellence and Enhancing the Impact, edited by M Boyd and J Wesemann, 41–53. Washington, D.C.: Council on Undergraduate Research.

Thurman, S. L. & Vandermaas-Peeler, M. (2023). Adaptive undergraduate research mentoring in a constellation model. Perspectives on Undergraduate Research Mentoring, 11.1, 1-14.

Wuetherick, B., Willison, J., & Shanahan, J. O. (2018). Mentored undergraduate research at scale: Undergraduate research in the curriculum as pedagogy. In M. Vandermaas-Peeler, P. C. Miller, & J. L. Moore (Eds.), Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduate Research (pp. 181–202). Council on Undergraduate Research.

Vandermaas-Peeler, M., Moore, J.L., & Allocco, A.L. (2023). A constellation model for mentoring undergraduates during COVID-19. Teaching & Learning Inquiry, 11, https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/TLI/article/view/75405/56577.