Big questions are out there. At Sewanee, we'll work together to find the answers.

Sewanee is a recognized leader in undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative work across all academic programs. Faculty members integrate original research and scholarship into the classroom and encourage their students to join them in extensive exploration of original work during the academic year and in the summer. In the process, students enhance their knowledge, hone their skills, and improve their postgraduate prospects.

What's more, as part of the Sewanee Pledge, Sewanee students are guaranteed funding for a summer research fellowship with a Sewanee professor or an approved program at another university.

Sewanee students conduct research with professors on a wide variety of projects. Recent projects include:

  • How platinum complexes form aggregates in solution
  • A new humanities research model for archival work
  • The effects of methamphetamine exposure in early adolescence
  • Photography and self-esteem with Haitian children
  • Using mouse hepatitis virus as a model system for studying human coronavirus
  • Recreating an obscure medieval play

Watch this video by Ben Davis, C' 24, who recently went on a forestry research trip to Colorado with several other Sewanee students!

GET INVOLVED AND CHANGE THE WORLD

One of the benefits of attending Sewanee is the direct access you have to professors and the research and scholarship in which they engage in order to answer previously unanswered questions or view the world in a new way. At Sewanee, we have funding to support you as you complete a summer research fellowship or a research internship at another institution. You may also get course credit as you work with a professor on a research or scholarly project.

Involvement in research, scholarship, or creative activity as an undergraduate will

  • Enhance your career preparation
  • Build your confidence
  • Help you gain essential technical and non-technical skills
  • Prepare you for your chosen graduate or pre-professional program

But most importantly, it will make your experience at Sewanee deeper and fuller. You can be a part of changing the world.

TAKE THE FIRST STEP

To get started, explore this website and then talk to a professor about participating in a research project. If you are not sure about which professor's projects are the best fit for you, you may check your department's website, browse this list of faculty publications, or contact the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship. You may want to read some brief stories about Sewanee faculty and student research or some back issues of the Sewanee Research Newsletter.

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

The best way to keep up with the research, scholarship, and creative endeavors involving Sewanee students and faculty is to follow the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship on our social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

JOIN THE COUNCIL ON UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH

A good way to learn about undergraduate research and opportunities is to become a member of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR). Sewanee has an institutional membership for CUR. This means that anyone at the university (faculty, staff, or students) may join this organization free of charge. Benefits of CUR membership include a subscription to Scholarship and Practice of Undergraduate Research, the biweekly CUR E-Newsletter, and various opportunities and discounts. If you are interested, when you visit the CUR website, go to the Join CUR tab, click on the "activate my enhanced membership benefits" link, and complete the form. You may also directly access the form here.

QUESTIONS?

For additional information about undergraduate research at Sewanee, please contact the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship.

 

Facts & Figures about Undergraduate Research

Highlights

143
research projects

were presented recently at Scholarship Sewanee: 88 posters and 55 oral presentations representing biology, physics, chemistry, earth and environmental systems, psychology, politics, economics, English, history, visual arts, and more.

379
students

were involved with mentored research or scholarly activities last year.

54
research fellowships

were funded through Sewanee Career Readiness for students to work with professors at Sewanee or other approved programs last summer.

Student & Faculty Profiles

Amy Patterson
aspatter@sewanee.edu

Amy Patterson, Carl Biehl Professor of International Affairs, conducts research and publishes on global health politics and Africa on themes such as AIDS, Ebola, and tobacco control. Most recently, she began research that looks at youth as citizens and how religion may affect their views of citizenship.

Professor of Politics
Julia Papapanagiotou, C’23
Houston, TX

Along with other students who work in the lab of Dr. Elise Kikis, Julia is studying the effect of nanoparticulate air pollution on neurodegenerative disease using the tiny worm C. elegans. C. elegans share many homologous genetic sequences with humans that can be exploited for research, and using them enables the researchers to see how protein mutations affect their movement.

Biology major
Clint Smith
ecsmith@sewanee.edu

Sewanee is one of only two liberal arts colleges in the country with the capacity to utilize the CoV reverse genetics system. Professor Smith and his students are researching a variety of topics including understanding the role of host chaperone proteins during CoV replication, elucidating the importance of a newly discovered viral enzymatic activity, and examining how CoVs respond to nucleotide depletion.

Assistant Professor of Biology
Lydia Klaus, C'19
Murfreesboro, Tenn.

During her summer fellowship, Lydia Klaus used books, films, and other visual art to lend authenticity to the production of the musical Cabaret. With Professor Jennifer Matthews, she was able to create an accurate detailed picture of Berlin and its cabarets during the period. She first served as assistant costume designer, was soon promoted to dramaturg, and also starred in the show as Fräulein Schneider.

Theatre Major
The Sewanee Pledge
Plan to do something cool. We'll cover the rest.

Sewanee provides funding for an approved summer internship or research fellowship, a semester-long study abroad opportunity at no additional tuition cost, and the ability to graduate with one major in four years. Of course, you will have to do your part. If you meet Sewanee’s academic and social expectations, these opportunities will be provided.

Our Promise to you
Programs of Study
38 Majors, 44 Minors, 3 Certificates & More

Our small classes mean that your voice will be heard, your contribution will be expected, and your opinion will be listened to (and disagreed with, and challenged, and seen from a different perspective, and pushed in a new direction, and considered—and you know what? Maybe we’re both right. See how it works?).

Explore Majors & Minors
Visit Sewanee
Welcome to the Domain

A visit to the Domain (it's what we call our 13,000-acre campus) is the best way to determine if Sewanee is a good fit for you. Once you set foot on campus, spend time with our students and professors, or take a stroll through Abbo's Alley, we are confident that Sewanee will find its way into your heart.

Come see us