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Humanities, Social Sciences, Non-STEM Research at RUNB

Humanities, Social Sciences, Non-STEM Research at Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Some undergraduate funding, internship and research programs by schools, departments, centers, and programs at Rutgers-NB. These programs give undergraduate students opportunities to engage in research and internship experiences in the fields of Humanities, arts, social sciences, and business, ranging from the duration of a summer to more long-term.

Aresty Research Center – The center's mission is to support undergraduate research at Rutgers University. Undergraduates have the opportunity to explore the process of research, as well as connect with faculty mentors and projects that aid in defining their research goals. Over 1,500 faculty members across all academic disciplines have partnered with Aresty and continue to collaborate to identify undergraduate students to serve as research assistants as well as to secure student funding in research. Aresty programs include:

  • Undergraduate Research Funding: students submit proposals to help defray the cost of independent research projects and senior theses or travel to professional conferences. Deadline- typically early Fall. 
  • Research Assistant (RA) Program: For students who are new to research, the Research Assistant Program pairs students with faculty mentors to conduct an academic year-long project. Opportunities are available across all majors. Rising sophomores, juniors and seniors with no previous research experience are eligible to apply. Deadline- typically mid-April. 

The Collaborative Center for Community-Based Research and Service is dedicated to campus-community partnership and community-engaged scholarship to advance the public good in the state of New Jersey and beyond. The Collaborative Center offers students the opportunity to partake in both the 2-credit Community-Based Research Assistant Program and the yearlong, six-credit Advancing Community Development Program, which can be completed as a capstone experience for the SAS Honors Program and the Honors College. Application deadlines for both programs occur on a rolling basis. To apply or to receive more information, please visit engage.rutgers.edu. 

Ronald E McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program is a federally funded program in memory of physicist and Challenger Astronaut, Dr. Ronald E. McNair. The program is designed to increase the number of first-generation, low-income and/or underrepresented students in doctoral programs, and ultimately, to diversify the faculty in colleges and universities across the country. It is one of several TRIO programs funded by the U.S. Department of Education supporting the academic achievement of students from groups traditionally underrepresented in higher education. All majors are eligible to participate in McNair. Participants of McNair:

  • Build a network of relationships with faculty, senior administrators, peers, and alumni
  • Research with a faculty member in field of interest during a fully paid on campus summer institute
  • Prepare for doctoral program admission process and enrollment
  • Access to National McNair Scholar community inclusive of other scholars, faculty, and staff

Rutgers RiSE – Housed with the School of Graduate Studies, RISE at Rutgers is a summer research program for outstanding undergraduates from diverse backgrounds. Students participate in 10 weeks of research under the guidance of faculty mentors. Deadline varies: please refer to their website.

School of Arts and Sciences

African Studies

  • Rutgers and Ghana: Through this program, students take at least one preparatory course related to Africa before spending 4-6 weeks in Ghana during the summer. The intense independent study seminar introduces interns to the history and culture of Ghana with a focus on women’s concerns in order to give them an understanding of the social, political, and cultural context in which they will work. 

American Studies

Anthropology

  • Bigel Endowment Award for Undergraduate Research in Anthropology: The Bigel Endowment in Anthropology is a unique program offering funds to advanced undergraduate or graduate students pursuing independent or honors research. 
  • ALMA Department of Anthropology Laboratory for MicroArchaeology:
    • Field Research: We are currently working in several archaeological sites along with different institutions around the world that might accept students as volunteers for their excavations. If you are interested in an experience abroad and working in an archaeological excavation, please contact Professor Cabanes for more information. We have an extensive network of collaborators that allows us to put you in contact with different institutions and excavations around the world
    • Laboratory research: ALMA is open to volunteer collaborations and to ARESTY's thesis for undergraduate students.

Art History

  • Patrick Quigley Scholarship: The fellowship provides support in the senior year to two majors in Art History who are pursuing a college degree while working to support themselves. The amount will be approximately $2,500 per student, depending on available monies. Recipients must be working undergraduate majors in Art History entering their senior year. (The timing is approximate, based on credits accrued.) Fellowships will be awarded based on academic merit and the applicant's personal essay.
  • Bzdak Travel Award for Study in Milan: This annual award is established by Drs. Michael J. and Meredith Arms Bzdak to provide financial assistance to undergraduate students for the study and/or research of Art History in Milan, Italy. The purpose of the travel award is to acquaint students with both the rich early Christian and Renaissance art and architecture of Milan as well as the city as a contemporary capital of design, style and fashion. In some cases, study in Rome may be supported.

Criminal Justice

Economics

  • Fed Challenge: The College Fed Challenge is an economics competition in which teams of college students prepare a presentation in which they assess the state of the economy and financial conditions and develop recommendations for monetary policy. The teams present their findings and recommendations before a panel of distinguished economists from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York who question the students on their analysis. 

English

  • Contests & Awards: various contests and awards for essays, creative writing, poetry, and multimedia compositions

Geography

  • MaGrann Research Award: Through the support of the MaGrann Geography Field Research Fund, intended to promote student research in the Department of Geography, annual awards are given to support field research by undergraduate and graduate students with the potential to make an outstanding contribution to Geography. Applications are due on March 14.

Jewish Studies

  • Awards: Jewish Studies Research Awards enable Rutgers undergraduate and graduate students to pursue Jewish Studies research, or take Jewish Studies courses at institutions other than Rutgers.

Latin American Studies

  • CLAS Small Grants: supports the work of Rutgers faculty and students interested in Latin American Studies. Awards are competitive and based on need and the merit of the proposed project. Past awards have generally ranged from $300 to $1500. No more than $1500 may be requested.

Linguistics

  • Laboratory for Developmental Language Studies: Our lab has openings for 5-9 undergraduate Research Assistants (RAs) every year. This is a great way to get involved in language research, and possibly in independent research where you can take ownership of a project. This type of experience is excellent preparation for students planning on applying to graduate school. Sophomores and Juniors are especially encouraged to apply. Application to become an RA in the lab can be rather competitive. Applications are usually accepted in the Spring semester (typically in March).

Political Science

  • WASHINGTON SEMESTER INTERNSHIP: In association with the Washington Internship Institute (WII) http://www.wiidc.org or The Washington Center (TWC) http://www.twc.edu, students from all majors may spend a semester in Washington, D.C. Juniors and seniors who have at least a 3.0 GPA and 15 credits in Political Science courses (including six in American government-related courses), may choose to spend the spring semester or summer semester enrolled in the Rutgers Washington Research and Internship Program for full academic Rutgers credit.  
  • Eagleton Institute of Politics Undergraduate Associate Program: Eagleton Undergraduate Associates learn about real-world politics and government from experienced practitioners and faculty. Rutgers University juniors from any school or major are eligible to apply for this selective three-semester certificate program.
  • Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) Volunteer Internships

Psychology

There are many labs headed by Psychology professors to possibly conduct research under. Check here for a list of labs, and email professors if you have an interest in their research.

Labs with Open Opportunities:

  • Sanchez Lab: Our research aims to explore the complexities and underlying factors associated with close relationships, identity and stigma. To examine these factors, we use a variety of techniques employing experimental, longitudinal, and psycho-physiological methods. Our research is supported by funding from the National Science Foundation, Russell Sage Foundation and the Spencer Foundation.
  • Cognition and Learning Center (CALC): The Cognition and Learning Center studies how our mind works and how it develops. Research assistants are required to work for 9 hours a week, for at least two semesters, as well as taking the class Infant and Child Development.
  • Affective and Biological Underpinnings of Substance Use and Anxiety (ABUSA): In the ABUSA lab we seek to identify underlying vulnerabilities that place individuals at risk for co-occurring anxiety pathology and substance use disorders, and/or may serve to maintain associated dysfunction.
  • Priors and Memory Lab: Our lab is broadly interested in how our prior expectations influence our memory and decision making. Specifically, our research addresses how expectations compensate for noisy and incomplete memory (e.g. for color or objects in scenes) and impact our decision making for the future (e.g. patient health choices).
  • Kleiman Lab Volunteer Research Assistant: Our work focuses on learning about the everyday lives of people at risk for suicide and using that information to create brief, scaleable interventions that can improve the lives of people at risk for suicide. 
  • Social-Emotional and Character Development (SECD): Our students have opportunities for direct involvement in schools, learning to work with data and statistical analyses in our Lab, or a combination of both.  We prefer students who are able to commit for a full academic year, ideally beginning in at least some limited capacity in the prior year (and/or prior summer) so that you spend your year with us "doing," and not just "preparing" to do.  
  •  Social, Health, and Interdisciplinary Psychophysiology Lab: Our research addresses the ways in which social, cognitive, and affective factors influence people’s physical health. 
  • Regulation, Action, and Motivated Perception Lab: Research assistants in our lab have an opportunity to be involved in all aspects of the research process, including conducting literature searches, assisting in designing and developing experiments, and running studies in and out of the lab. 
  • Barker Lab: Undergraduate students from a wide range of majors including Psychology, Cell Biology and Neuroscience, and Biomedical Engineering will be considered. Work in the lab consists of various duties involving laboratory animals (mice and rats). Lab members are expected to arrange a consistent weekly schedule to perform these duties and to maintain this schedule throughout the semester. Typical laboratory duties include monitoring the animal colony,maintaining the laboratory and laboratory equipment, preparing reagents, conducting experimental procedures, organizing and analyzing experimental data, and presenting experimental data to other lab members.
  • Aiello Research Team: Dr. Jack Aiello's research lab has been investigating the process by which people regulate and control their social interaction with others. We provide students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with the day-to-day operations of research in social and organizational psychology.  

South Asian Studies

  • Research/Travel Awards: The South Asian Studies Program annually furnishes small grants to students pursuing field or archival research on South Asia or the South Asian diaspora. These awards are made on a competitive basis and help offset the cost of such things as archival fees, travel expenses to South Asia or sites of South Asian diasporic life, conference fees, or summer language study.
  • External Scholarships including:
    • ICCR Scholarships
    • Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs
    • The United States -India Education foundation (USIEF)

Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy

School of Business

  • TeamUP: The TeamUP mentoring program helps in the transformation of Rutgers Business school students into responsible business professionals. Students accepted into the program consult one-on-one with a business professional to obtain insights into the industry as well as guidance on professional planning. 
  • Women BUILD: Women BUILD (Business Undergraduates in Leadership Development), formerly known as Women’s Business Leadership Initiative (WBLI), is a leadership program for high-achieving, motivated, and talented women undergraduates at Rutgers Business School. BUILD offers students the opportunity to reach their full leadership potential as business students and empowers them to work toward their future as the next generation of female business leaders committed to excellence in business, ethical judgment, and global perspective.

School of Social Work

  • Link to School of Social Work’s guide to how to Get Involved: external resources for volunteering, activism, and internship opportunities