At the time of writing, there clearly is more research on undergraduate research than there are explicit efforts at formulating theory. However, any questionnaire designed to assess the effects of undergraduate research also contains theoretical assumptions; while these may not always become explicit, they can nonetheless contribute to theory-building.

This introduction has three parts. The first part will briefly introduce existing models of undergraduate research with theoretical significance, here in the context of the research–teaching nexus. The second part will introduce the four theoretical perspectives that provide the framework(s) for an understanding of undergraduate research in this handbook, namely: higher education policy, psychology, philosophy, and the sociocultural perspective. The third part will briefly discuss how we might develop a theory of undergraduate research.

“Humboldt reloaded” is a cross-faculty teaching program for undergraduate research experiences established in 2011 at the University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany. The overall goal is to provide students with the opportunity to experience and conduct research at a very early stage in the undergraduate curriculum. The program is named after the educational reformer Wilhelm von Humboldt, the founder of the modern German university, who advocated the unity of research and teaching and the development of critical thinking skills (the Humboldtian education ideal).