The undergraduate laboratory is an essential part of the physics curriculum because physics is inherently an experimental science. There are various documents discussing the goals and purpose of the undergraduate lab; however, the last AAPT policy statement on Introductory Lab Goals was approved in 1997. 1 During the last several years, increasing attention has been paid to the importance of the laboratory in physics instruction. The Physics Education Research Community has begun looking at goals and learning in introductory and advanced undergraduate lab courses; 2-‐9 laboratory practices are being incorporated into the new AP Physics 1 and 2 courses for high school students; 10 and there are new K-‐12 science standards (Next Generation Science Standards), likely to be implemented in many states in the near future, which emphasize a broad spectrum of experimental and laboratory practices. 11 Since its inception in 2007, the Advanced Laboratory Physics Association (ALPhA) has brought focus to the undergraduate laboratory beyond the first year with topical conferences in 2009 and 2012 and dozens of faculty development opportunities through its laboratory immersions program. 12 The topic of the 2010 Gordon Research Conference on Physics Education was on Experimental Research and Laboratories in Physics Education. 13 Since 2011, there have been several sessions, including four panels, at AAPT meetings on the pedagogy, goals, and assessment of the instructional labs. In 2012, President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology(PCAST) called for “advocat [ing] and provid [ing] support for replacing standard laboratory courses with discovery-‐based research courses” in their report Engage to Excel: Producing One Million Additional College Graduates with Degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. 14 Also, in 2012, the AAPT’s

Undergraduate Curriculum Task Force was charged to review the undergraduate physics curriculum, and the AAPT and APS established the Joint Task Force on Undergraduate Physics Programs (J-‐TUPP) in 2014 to examine what “skills and knowledge… the next generation of undergraduate physics degree holders [should] possess to be well prepared for a diverse set of careers.” 15 This is, therefore, an opportune time to review laboratory goals and guidelines for all levels of the undergraduate physics curriculum. To this end, the AAPT Committee on Laboratories formed a Subcommittee consisting of members and friends of the Committee on Laboratories, who teach a range of student populations from non-‐majors to introductory laboratory students to advanced laboratory students at a range of institutions, including two-‐year colleges, primarily undergraduate institutions, masters-‐granting institutions, and Research 1 universities. This subcommittee has reviewed the state of the undergraduate physics laboratory curriculum and related physics education research on the physics laboratory and has made recommendations that foster the development of many key 21st century skills and competencies.