Mandatory Undergraduate Research: Unlocking the Potential of Students at a Latin American University

Through undergraduate research experiences (UREs), students develop important knowledge and skills, such as reading and understanding scientific literature, working independently, and communication skills. The acquired knowledge and skills apply to their professional life, regardless of whether students pursue a career in science. Because students choose to participate in these experiences, the overall satisfaction and perceived benefits of the experiences tend to be positively evaluated. The URE is a graduation requirement at the Panamerican Agricultural School (Zamorano University). To the best of our knowledge, no literature explores student satisfaction and perceived benefits in the context of mandatory UREs. In this teaching method article, we present details on the URE at Zamorano University, including its modalities, procedure, and required human and capital resources, student satisfaction, and perceived benefits for the 2023 agribusiness cohort, and the overall impact to society. The results suggest most students were satisfied or very satisfied with the experience and perceived moderate to significant benefits. However, mean satisfaction and perceived benefits were lower than non-mandatory UREs at other institutions. Finally, we present evidence of the UREs’ contribution to faculty involved in advising and its benefits to society.