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Independent study projects, senior theses, and senior fellowships provide some of the best opportunities for creating relationships with a particular faculty member. Working one-on-one enables the professor to develop a better understanding of your interests and abilities. It also provides you with a chance to learn about the professor's area of specialization. Finding common intellectual ground can lead to greater personal understanding and friendship.
Mentoring occurs informally throughout the College, but some campus programs have staff members dedicated to placing students with specific mentors.
- The Women in Science Program (WISP) is located in Parker House and matches students with a particular professor. Students gain experience in conducting scientific research and develop a working relationship with their faculty mentor that can lead to a major, thesis work, and eventually recommendations for graduate school.
- The Presidential Scholars Program is open to sophomores who have a GPA in the top 40% of the class at the end of fall term of sophomore year. You will receive a letter of invitation to join the program and become a research assistant for a particular professor and have the option of earning independent study credit or receiving a stipend for two terms of work. Dartmouth maintains a database of projects, searchable by professor, division, department, skills to be acquired, and description. After you decide which projects interest you most, you then meet with the professor to see if there is a good fit in terms of expectations. Often the presidential scholars end up working with their mentors on more advanced work.
- If you are interested in working on a research project in the summer after your first year, you can apply for a First-Year Summer Research Project.
- The E.E. Just Program for students in the sciences provides internships to eligible juniors and seniors who have declared a science major. The internships pay stipends while students work with individual members of the faculty on research projects. Internships can be one or more terms in length. Students participating in the Program will be encouraged to pursue a Senior Honors thesis. The internships are part of a larger program designed to increase the number of black students majoring in the sciences. To be eligible, you must have at least 2 years of coursework and declared a science major, have a GPA of at least 3.0, and be African-American or African/Caribbean.
- Several other grants for students to engage in research with a faculty mentor are available.
- Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowships are awarded to increase the number of minority students, and others with a demonstrated commitment to eradicating racial disparities, who will pursue PhDs in select fields in the arts and sciences. For further information, contact Professor Richard Wright.
Research assistantships offer you a mechanism for earning money, gaining valuable skills, and developing a mentor relationship with a professor. The best way to find such positions is to make inquiries with specific professors or ask the department administrative assistant to circulate an announcement of your skills and availability. Lab openings are often posted in the department or in the Blitzmail bulletins for specific departments and majors. Current hourly rates range from $8-$10.
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