Undergraduates Join Faculty In Research Projects
Students have the opportunity to publish their research at conferences, where they may interact with graduate students and scientists in their fields.
One of the benefits of a Trinity education is the opportunity to engage in research with faculty. You don’t have to do research to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Trinity, but it’s highly recommended for students thinking of going on to graduate school and can be a great learning experience for others as well. It fits well with Trinity’s emphasis on experiential learning, and can result in conference presentations or academic publications.
How to get started
To find out what your options are, your best bet is to talk to faculty you think you might want to work with and ask. Faculty members listed below have expressed particular interest in supervising student research, but you should feel free to approach any faculty member.
View Faculty Research Interests
Ways To Participate
Directed Study
Faculty active in research generally welcome student involvement on an part-time basis during the school year, often as a one-credit course (CSCI 3190, Directed Study). A directed study is an excellent way to build towards summer research or a thesis project.
Summer research
Many faculty devote at least part of their summers to research, and they welcome student involvement. Summer research is usually a full-time, ten-week program, and can be supported through summer undergraduate research fellowships, particularly the HEP and Murchison fellowships. Summer projects are arranged by individual faculty members, and fellowship applications are usually due in mid-February.
Senior thesis project
One of the options for the capstone requirement for the BS in CS is to complete a three-semester thesis project. These projects involve students working closely with faculty to define a question and explore solutions to it. The work culminates in the student writing a thesis, generally 30–50 pages, on what they did and what they discovered.
Scholarships
Mach Research Fellowships
Mach fellowships, endowed by alumnus Steven Mach (Trinity 1992), provide funding to rising seniors in STEM fields for use in research or scholarly activity during their senior year. One Mach Fellow nomination is permitted per department, from which a University-wide committee makes final selections.
HEP Summer Research Fellowships
The Howland, Eggen, & Pitts Fellowship was established in 2011 by alumni and faculty of the department to honor retired faculty John Howland, Ph.D.; Maurice Eggen, Ph.D.; and Gerald Pitts, Ph.D. All three served the department ably for many years, and indeed Howland started the department (in 1970). The fund supports undergraduate student research.