Undergraduate Research

PC students have diverse opportunities to engage in scholarly and creative activities.  They often join faculty members as research assistants on their on-going research projects providing a one-to-one learning relationship.  Other students conduct their own independent studies.  All of these efforts move education beyond textbooks and lectures to encourage active learning enriching the academic experience.

PC Summer Fellows

The PC Summer Fellows (PCSF) Program is designed to enhance the academic experience of PC students by providing them with opportunities to work with faculty for eight weeks during the summer.  The program is intended for motivated students to gain research experience with direct faculty mentoring.  Students experience the process of research as a creative intellectual activity in a living-learning environment. During the summer of 2008, nine students from six different departments conducted independent research.  The program grew to include nineteen fellows in 2009. Their research ranged from the study of extremely small nanoparticles to the influence of the worldwide web on politics, and their final presentations showed the interrelationship of research in various disciplines—interrelationships that a liberal arts education helps to explore. Applications are now being accepted for the 2010 program. 

Honors Program

Students have many chances to share the results of their scholarly pursuits.  Several departments offer seminars for their majors to present their findings.  The annual Honors Day Symposium provides a time for the campus of acknowledge students’ scholarly efforts.  Past symposiums have included literary, humanist, and scientific presentations and posters from students of all classes.  PC students also share their research results through presentations at regional symposiums and professional meetings where they have frequently won awards for the quality of their presentations.

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