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Undergraduate Research Program

Undergraduate research provides students direct experience with the methods and processes of inquiry of the student’s discipline. The undergraduate research program at Bethel College is based on collaboration between students and faculty and between students and other students. All students at Bethel College have the opportunity and are encouraged to participate in at least one undergraduate research experience.

Students are offered four ways to participate in undergraduate research:

1. Class-oriented projects provide an initial undergraduate research experience for students. Students work together with other students and their course instructor on shared research projects.
2. Bethel College Study and Research Awards are granted, through a competitive process, to students for study and research to be done during the summer following their sophomore or junior year. The work is done in collaboration with faculty on a topic of potential interest to students in their senior seminar, or a topic that they might wish to pursue in graduate school.
3. Directed study courses taken during the summer provide students with opportunity to work on a collaborative research project with a faculty mentor. Typically, directed study courses are related to the student’s major.
4. Senior Seminar Courses. Many students at Bethel College participate in a senior seminar course. Each student works with a faculty member to develop and implement an original research project. Research topics may be related to summer research projects, internships, culminating art shows or performance, or other experiences.