Undergraduate Research in Honors
About Undergraduate Research in Honors
Undergraduate research can be a transformative experience, valuable not only for graduate and professional school but for any career requiring initiative, independent thinking, and problem-solving skills. Research fosters close working relationships between faculty and students and among research teams, and it offers students a window onto some of the most pressing challenges facing society today.
The University Honors Program strongly encourages and supports research for Honors students. We work with departments and colleges to offer Disciplinary Honors programs in a variety of fields, including Biology, Biomedical Sciences, Chemistry, Exercise Physiology, Humanities, Physics, Psychology, and Nursing.
Every summer we offer competitive Undergraduate Research Fellowships for research performed under the guidance of faculty mentors. Proposal deadlines are in March; both Core and Disciplinary Honors students are eligible. We showcase Honors research at the Honors Undergraduate Research Symposium in November.
Undergraduate Summer Research Program 2024
Applications Due: March 20, 2024 at 5:00 PM
The University Honors Program will offer 20 undergraduate summer fellowships to Honors students, in the amount of $3500 each, on a competitive basis for research or creative projects to be carried out June-August 2024. In many cases the research or creative work will be done on Marquette’s campus, but residence at Marquette is not required, and students have done Honors research projects in other parts of the country or abroad. To be eligible for the stipends, which will be paid in a few lump sums at the beginning of the summer and can be used for any kind of cost, from materials to travel to rent, all students must have faculty mentors who agree to supervise their projects. Research in the Health Sciences or Biological Sciences Summer Research Programs, or other summer research programs at Marquette, is appropriate for these stipends. If you are in a Disciplinary Honors program or are doing an Honors project with a mentor independently, you might want to use the summer fellowship for an early stage of your research.
All applications will be reviewed by a panel of faculty with representation from the humanities, sciences, and social sciences. The Honors Program has access to applicants’ transcripts, which will be consulted during review of applications.
Acceptance of the funding will acknowledge your agreement to present your independent research or creative project at the Honors Program Research and Creative Project Fair to be scheduled in the 2024 fall semester. Participation in this Fair is required for all fellowship winners. Students who accept Honors fellowships must be planning to enroll at Marquette in fall 2024.
For information on how to apply, view the call for proposals.
Past fellowship winners and projects:
2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
Some samples of Honors research projects in summer 2018:
- Voodoo and African-American Female Practitioners in New Orleans, Corrine Conway, Anthropology
- Using Brain Stimulation to Prevent Opioid Relapse, Megan Matre, Biomedical Sciences
- The Role of lin-15B on the Expression of Germline Gene LIN-35 in C. elegans, Carlos Gonzalez, Biomedical Engineering
- A Microhistory of County Laois, 1916-1923, Andrew Himmelberg, History
- Wisconsin Statewide Assessment of Staphylococcus aureus Antibiotic Resistance Patterns, Rebecca Schulte, Clinical Laboratory Sciences
- Historical Fiction in the Twenty-First Century: Ethics, Origins, and Responsibilities, Katherine Stein, English
Andi Sirokman and Emma Baumgardt discuss their summer research project on gender and undergraduate residence life.
Jack Hodes explains his research on stress, suffering, and the resilience of undocumented immigrants.
