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Undergraduate Research Opportunities

Philosophy, Religion, and PPE students can participate in academic research in many ways: taking classes focused on research practices and methodologies, working on faculty-led research projects, developing independent research projects, or writing honors theses.

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    Research-Intensive Classes and Independent Research Projects. Research experience is an integral part of the majors in Philosophy, Religious Studies, and Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE). And while students in the major engage in a variety of research experiences throughout their classes, the department also offers several research-intensive courses.

    Credit Based and Academic Options
    • Directed Study, PHIL 4992. Can be done for 1-4 credits. Students study a topic with a faculty advisor, and can include working with the faculty on research on the topic.
    • Research Practicum, PHIL 2991. Can be done for 2-4 credits. Students do collaborative work with a faculty member with the goal of teaching them research methods.
    • Honors in the Major, CSSH/Department, independent student projects with faculty advisors. Department guidance on honors in the major is under the "Academics" tab on our website.
    • Research Activity through INSH 2992, which is a 0 credit hour course/no tuition but shows up on student transcript as research activity.
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    Departmental Research Opportunities. Students who qualify for work-study may apply directly through the Student Employment website to work as a research assistant for a professor. Students can also fulfill their co-op experience by applying to the Ethics Institute Co-Op position. Individual faculty members may also have funding available for Research Assistants. Our faculty are leading exciting projects and working with affiliated centers on research year-round.

    Funding for Research Opportunities
    • Undergraduate Research Initiative, CSSH. Next deadline: April 15 for funding beginning Summer and Fall semesters.
    • Provost Office Internal Research Grants - see Office of the Provost website.
    • Ethics Institute Co-op. Students may apply on Workday.
    • Work/Study. If students have work/study as part of their financial aid, a faculty member can create a work/study position for them to work as a research assistant. This can be arranged with a specific faculty member, or students can apply to open positions in the Department.
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    Student-Faculty Research. There are a variety of student-faculty research partnerships available within and outside the Department. Working groups, for instance, provide a casual, semi-structured space to work with faculty in an extracurricular setting. Honors students can also find additional research support and resources through the Honors Program website.

    Additional Opportunities
    • Honors Early Research Awards, Honors Program. Restricted to first and second year students in the honors program.
    • Honors Propel Grants, Honors Program. Restricted to third and fourth year students in the honors program.
    • Honors Conference Travel Awards, Honors Program. Open to Honors students in any year of study. Consideration will solely be given to research and creative endeavors that took place during the applicant’s undergraduate career at Northeastern.
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    University-wide Research Opportunities. Students can explore an extensive range of research opportunities across the entire University on the Office of Undergraduate Research & Fellowships website. This site also includes helpful resources and application deadlines.

    Office of Undergraduate Research & Fellowships

    The annual RISE (Research Innovation Scholarship Entrepreneurship) Awards serve as a large-scale effort to support Northeastern's commitment to use-inspired research and solution-focused innovation. Hundreds of students and faculty showcase their research at this event each year.