Research opportunites at Centre College
Many of the science and mathematics professors at Centre College work collaboratively with undergraduate students both during the academic year and during the summer on research projects.
How do you find out which professors are researching what?
There are a few ways to find out what different professors are interested in or actively researching.
Look up professors one-by-one in the Centre College directory. The easiest way to do this is to use Google or your favorite search engine and type your professors name followed by Centre College (example: “Kristen Fulfer Centre College”). This should find the professors directory entry. The Centre College directory will have the professor’s name, picture, contact information, and some information about their degrees and research interests.
Ask! Many of your professors love to talk about their research. You can always email or ask a professor directly if they are willing to set up a meeting to chat with you about their research interests.
How do you reach out to a professor to ask about working with them on a project?
Asking a professor to talk about research (especially a professor you haven’t interacted with before) can be intimidating and unfamiliar. Here are two suggestions for how to reach out to a new-to-you professor, go with which ever one feels most comfortable to you:
Ask a professor that you know, maybe someone whose class you are currently taking or your academic advisor, to introduce you to the professor that you want to talk with. Professors are human too and will likely understand that initiating a conversation with someone that you don’t know can be tough.
Email the professor that you want to talk with directly. I would suggest taking a little bit of time to draft this email so that you make sure to come across professional. Some tips:
Make sure to use an appropriate salutation and title (example: “Good afternoon, Professor Fulfer” reads quite a bit better than “Hey Ms. Fulfer!”). Remember that all professors male and female have the title Professor and you should use this title unless they give you permission to address them differently.
Be sure to introduce yourself. What is your name? What year are you? What classes are you taking that might be related?
Let them know that you are interested in learning more about their research and then ask if they might have time to set up a meeting. It’s a good idea at this point to also give them your schedule, so that they have a starting point for what days/times might work for a meeting.
Again, keep in mind that while reaching out to a professor might be intimidating, most professors are delighted to talk about research with students, I promise!
How can you get academic credit or even a paycheck?
If you work with a professor on a research project during the academic year, you may be able to get academic credit. In fact, this can count as one of your two required Experiential Learning opportunities in the General Education Curriculum. When talking with professors about their research interests, you should ask about the possibility of earning academic credit as each program does this a little bit differently. Some programs have 405 classes which are research seminars. Other programs may have 402 (guided research classes) or some other class that serves as an undergraduate research class. A general rule of thumb is that 3 hours of research per week is equal to 1 credit hour.
If you work with a professor on a research project during the summer, you are eligible for free on-campus housing and often a stipend. Note that professors have to apply for funding to pay students at the beginning of February, so it is important to talk with professors early about summer research.