Undergraduate Research Opportunities

In order to foster in-depth research and academic experiences for outstanding students, several special awards are available to students in the college. A small number of honors students who show exceptional academic promise are offered professorial assistantships and work directly with a faculty member. Professorial assistants receive a modest stipend and the opportunity to work on a professional research project.

In addition, students may be invited to compete for a dean’s assistantship after their junior year. The highly competitive process includes writing a research proposal for a project to be conducted with faculty supervision. Students selected by a faculty committee for this award receive a stipend of approximately $3,000 to carry out their project. In recognition of the work completed by the student, one or more dean’s assistantship recipients are awarded the Dean Gwen Andrew Undergraduate Research Fellowship. The fellowship includes a $1,000 award.

Many faculty are engaged in research projects in which an undergraduate could participate. Students should inquire with individual faculty members about opportunities to join a research team.

For more information, contact:

Brendan Mullan
Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs
College of Social Science
Michigan State University
202 Berkey Hall
East Lansing, MI 48824
Telephone: (517) 355-6673
mullan@msu.edu