Why undergrads consider leaving research and what research labs can do to help students thrive Participating in research as an undergraduate is well known to benefit students as they develop into confident and skilled researchers. Students can hone their technical skills, critical thinking, and ability to collaborate and communicate their findings. Despite these benefits, some students still decide to leave their undergraduate research labs prior to completing their undergraduate degree. If these experiences are so beneficial, why are students leaving them prematurely? A group of researchers, including 14 undergraduate students participating in ASU’s LEAP Scholars program , set out to answer this question. They surveyed life sciences students from 25 research-intensive public universities nationwide who were currently participating in or had previously participated in undergraduate research. Surprisingly, half of the students surveyed considered leaving their undergraduate resear...