Student Research

In many cases, your first exposure to research comes with an in-class semester-long project. These classroom experiences let you practice the skills necessary to perform independent research, including locating literature related to your project, discerning reliable from unreliable sources, designing effective research questions, and evolving your research questions based on the data you collect and analyze. When you have gotten a taste of these skills and would like to gain additional independent experience, schedule an appointment with the faculty member who studies the topic closest to your interests to learn more about how to develop a project of your own. From this conversation, you can figure out what sort of work may be best for you and set some goals and benchmarks for a successful project.

The College sponsors undergraduate presentation opportunities on campus each semester to showcase work being done over the summer and academic year. Since it is important for undergraduates to get the chance to present their work off-campus as well, the College supports student travel to regional and national conferences for presentation. Regional presentation opportunities include the Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference on Undergraduate Scholarship (MARCUS) meeting held at Sweet Briar College each Fall and the Virginia Academy of Science meeting held each May. On a national level, the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) is held each April, and several academic professional societies hold meetings with undergraduate presentation sessions. The College also has several outlets available on campus for the publication of original work.

• The Honors Program
• Flemming Center for Entrepreneurship
• Fellowship Office

• Council on Undergraduate Research
• National Conference for Undergraduate Research
• MARCUS Meeting
• Sigma Xi Society for Scientific Research