Pitt Associate Professor of Chemistry Joseph Grabowski (far right) with students in his lab.

About 20 percent of Pitt graduating seniors surveyed last spring said they had worked with faculty members on research projects outside of their regular course work. Predictably, the percentage was higher in the sciences and engineering, where more than 50 percent of graduating seniors reported such research experiences.

The source of those percentages was the 2005 University of Pittsburgh Graduating Seniors Survey, which also provided the following departmental percentages of undergraduate participation in research:

Biology: 41 percent
Chemistry: 75 percent
Geology and Planetary Science: 47 percent
Neuroscience: 65 percent
Physics and Astronomy: 50 percent
Statistics: 100 percent
Bioengineering: 100 percent
Chemical Engineering: 54 percent
Computer Engineering: 47 percent
Electrical Engineering: 40 percent

“These data probably underestimate the true amount of activity, particularly outside of the sciences and engineering, where there is not a very clear understanding of what is meant by ‘undergraduate research experience,’ particularly among students,” notes Patricia Beeson, Pitt vice provost for graduate studies and interim vice provost for undergraduate studies.