Each summer, hundreds of Williams students work with faculty members on professional research and scholarship.
Whether or not they go into academia, these students find out what it’s like to create new knowledge—and learn ways of thinking that only a handful of American undergraduates ever experience.
- In the sciences, where student-faculty research projects have been in place for decades, Williams leads all undergraduate colleges in the number of National Science Foundation grants received.
- Research opportunities are increasingly available in the humanities and social sciences, where students have collaborated with professors in such fields as art, literature, economics, political science, and history.
- Many students are co-authors of research published in respected academic journals, and a number of them have presented their findings at national academic and scientific conferences.
- Young alumni in fields as diverse as physics and venture capital say that working alongside their professors to extend the boundaries of human understanding was their most transformative Williams experience.
Student-faculty research initiatives are an expensive Williams investment: Summer associates earn $3,700 plus housing for 10 weeks of collaborative work.
The college seeks additional endowed funds to expand these opportunities to all interested and qualified students. To read a briefing paper on student-faculty research fellowships, download this PDF. To learn more about supporting this program, contact Director of Development Lew Fisher ’89.
