Student Research

No matter which field they explore — science, public policy, social science, the arts or the humanities — our undergraduate and graduate students work side-by-side with world-class scientists and investigators to push the boundaries of innovation.

Fellowships and research initiatives allow students to follow their academic curiosity, whether under the guidance of faculty mentors or pursuing independent projects.

 

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Lauren Anderson, CCAS Luther Rice Fellow

 

Luther Rice Undergraduate Research Fellowship

As the college's premier research fellowship opportunity, the Luther Rice Research Fellowships empower students to produce impactful research alongside a faculty mentor. All Columbian College undergraduate students are eligible to apply.

Learn More and Apply

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A young man gesturing and presenting to a listener standing in front of a research poster

 

Columbian College Research Showcase

The CCAS Research Showcase is an opportunity for all graduate and undergraduate students from across the school to present their research and scholarship in a poster session to the broader CCAS community.

Learn More and Submit

External Funding 

CCAS students receive research funding from prestigious programs including the Truman Scholarship, Fulbright Program, Marshall Scholarship and Rhodes Scholarship. Learn more on the GW Center for Undergraduate Research Fellowships website.

 

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Olivia Nippe-Jeakins
 
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"I would like to [express my] gratitude to the GW physics department and my research advisers ... You have shaped not only the physicist I am becoming but also the person I am today, and for that I am deeply grateful."

Olivia Nippe-Jeakins
BS '26, Astronomy and Astrophysics
2026 Distinguished Scholar and Luther Rice Fellow


Endowed Research Opportunities

Undergraduate and graduate students can use Student Research Commons to find research positions and other opportunities across disciplines. The website connects students with paid research positions, fellowships, databases of scholarships and funding opportunities, research internships and other for-credit or experiential opportunities.

Not sure where to start? Check out the options listed on this page, and read our guide to finding undergraduate research opportunities.


Funding Opportunities for Graduate & Postdoctoral Research

Dean’s Graduate Lectureship

The CCAS Dean’s Graduate Lectureship offers exceptional PhD candidates the unique experience of designing and teaching their own undergraduate seminars while obtaining financial support for dissertation research.

The Gamow Postdoctoral Fellowship Program

Named after George Gamow, a renowned GW theoretical physicist, the Gamow Fellowship promotes student-faculty research collaborations while addressing the need for greater diversity in the science community.

More Graduate Funding Resources


Spotlights on Student Research

First-year students Jocelyn Graham and Bradley Fowler traveled to D.C.’s Chinatown during an assignment for Professor Elizabeth Chacko’s Migrants in the City Dean’s Seminar.

Street Smarts: Geography Class Maps D.C.’s Immigrant Identity

In her Migrants in the City Dean’s Seminar, Geography’s Elizabeth Chacko turns the District into a classroom as students explore urban diversity.

Lucia Kustra

DIG-ging Anthropology: Senior Bridges Labs, Leadership

Lucia Kustra studies primate cultures and leads the next generation of anthropologists as president of the DIG pre-professional fraternity.

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The Particle Whisperers

GW experimental physicists are pioneering big science at the smallest scale.