Undergraduate Research Opportunities at Hollins

Each spring at Hollins, students have the opportunity to present their own individual research at the annual Student Performance and Research Conference (SPARC).  In 2022, forty-seven students presented their research across eight interdisciplinary panels and five poster sessions; click here for a recent conference program.

Watch for emails about applying to SPARC early in the spring semester.

Each spring, Hollins students have the additional opportunity to submit research projects completed in Hollins courses for the Wyndham Robertson Library Undergraduate Research Award.  Two winners are selected (one from the first-year/sophomore category, one from the junior/senior category).  In addition to a monetary ($$$) prize, winning and finalist submissions are published in the Hollins Digital Commons.

Applications for the library's Undergraduate Research Award are due at the end of February.

Each summer, a select number of students also have the opportunity to work collaboratively with faculty as participants in the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellows (SURF) Program.  The program provides a stipend and summer housing to accepted students who participate in a cohort model during the summer months.  Participants in SURF come from across all academic divisions of the university; 2021 SURF Fellows teamed up with Hollins faculty to conduct research on topics ranging from educational equity and academic suspensions during COVID to Catholic social thought in political theory to noise pollution impacts on pollination.  This past summer, SURF Fellows presented their research at the annual Summer Research Symposium at Virginia Tech.

Applications to the SURF program are due early in the spring semester.

There are numerous department-specific research opportunities available at Hollins as well.  For example, science majors present their research at the annual Science Seminar, while history majors are eligible to apply for the Phi Alpha Theta Paper Awards.  The university's academic catalog also contains information on academic honors, honor societies, and awards.  For more information on these kinds of opportunities, start by communicating your interests to your academic advisor and/or the department chair of the relevant academic program.