Research Opportunities at Dartmouth
Dartmouth encourages students to pursue their academic interests both through classes during the term, as well as extracurricular activities such as research, fellowships and internships that enrich their learning experience. This is further enhanced by the profound relationships students develop with their professors that allows them to work on research projects in collaboration with these professors.
At Dartmouth, there are many opportunities to conduct research on your own or in collaboration with professors, while also getting compensated for your work. Firstly, it is not uncommon for students to reach out to professors who they would be interested in doing research with. Dartmouth's office of Undergraduate Advising and Research (UGAR) actually compiles and maintains a database of faculty research projects. Through this database, students can find out what research projects faculty members are working on and reach out to professors to work on projects they are interested in.
Aside from this, many departments also have programs that connect undergraduate students with professors to conduct research with. For example, the economics department organizes the Dartmouth Economic Research Scholars (DERS) program to provide additional mentoring and support in economics research to students with strong research potential and high academic standing. The DERS program begins with paid assistantships on faculty projects, but often evolves into research collaborations with faculty and independent student projects, including senior theses. The program also aims to prepare interested students for graduate studies in economics and related fields. Other departments such as Dartmouth Engineering organize the First Year Research in Engineering Experience (FYREE) program that provides first-year undergraduate students and prospective engineering majors with early hands-on experience and mentoring within engineering.
In terms of funding and compensation, there are several avenues through which students can get paid for their research work. Programs such as Presidential Scholars and Undergraduate Research Assistantships at Dartmouth (URAD) provide a $1200 stipend per term to students selected for the programs. Students can also be individually compensated by the individual departments that they are working with.
Working on a research project with a faculty mentor, as part of the DERS program, has been an incredibly fulfilling experience this term. Seeing the ways that theories and concepts I have learnt in my past classes apply to the creation of economic policy has definitely cemented my interests in economics.