Positive Student Responses to Embedding a Student-Chosen Research Project into a Sophomore Organic Chemistry Lab

Undergraduate research opportunities (UROs) have positive effects across all demographic lines. Understandably, it is difficult to provide UROs to every interested student. One means of expanding them may be to restructure undergraduate lab courses to include research projects. Although this has been done in various ways over the past two decades, within the realm of sophomore organic chemistry labs, only two articles feature course structures where research projects were chosen, designed, and carried out by the students, with minimal input from the instructor. In this article we disclose such a design, which differs from our earlier report because the URO project was spread over two semesters, instead of just one. We also share anonymous student feedback, which was highly positive and included recommendations from all participants that the course structure be continued in future years. We further summarize student-surveyed confidence gains in fundamental organic techniques, students’ average performance on a normalized ACS exam, project cost, and limitations.