Summer Research
Summer research at Presbyterian College gives students the opportunity to participate in immersive undergraduate research alongside faculty mentors. Through the eight-week program, students explore meaningful questions, gain hands-on research experience, and build skills that prepare them for graduate school, careers, and future opportunities.
As part of a community of scholars and innovators, students collaborate with faculty throughout the summer and present their findings at the Summer Research Symposium each fall.
PC Research Fellowship
Collaborative student-faculty research is at the heart of the PC Summer Fellowship program. This immersive undergraduate research experience gives motivated students the opportunity to work closely with faculty mentors, gain hands-on research experience, and explore meaningful questions in a supportive living-learning environment.
During the eight-week program, students conduct research for at least 25 hours each week while living on campus and participating in faculty-led lunch seminars with fellow student researchers. PC Fellows present their findings at the end-of-summer PC Research Symposium and again at the Honors Day Symposium in the spring.
SCICU Research Grant
Funded by the South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (SCICU), this undergraduate research program gives students the opportunity to work closely with faculty mentors on meaningful scholarly projects. By helping reduce financial barriers, SCICU grants make hands-on research experiences more accessible while allowing students to focus on academic and professional growth.
Through inquiry and discovery, students strengthen critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving skills that prepare them for graduate school, careers, and life beyond college.
NIH INBRE
The National Institutes of Health funds the South Carolina IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (SC INBRE) to advance biomedical research and promote undergraduate research training in South Carolina. Each year, approximately eight to ten PC students are selected to participate in the undergraduate research program. Once selected, students conduct biomedical research and have opportunities to present their research on and off campus.
NASA Space Consortium
As a member of the NASA South Carolina Space Grant Consortium, Presbyterian College receives funding to support student and faculty research. Each year, students have opportunities to participate in undergraduate research through summer fellowships and ongoing NASA-sponsored projects, gaining hands-on experience alongside faculty mentors.
Patrick
Buchanan ’25
Patrick Buchanan became interested in Brazilian history while in history professor Dr. Jaclyn Sumner’s seminars. While Sumner focuses on Mexico, Buchanan found lectures on Brazil to be the most fascinating.
Buchanan began his research in the PC Summer Fellowship Program, focusing on the history of Brazil and race relations. The Summer Fellowship research led Buchanan to develop his Capstone research project on escaped slave communities and nation-building in Imperial (nineteenth century) Brazil. Now, Buchanan is conducting research at the University of Chicago. He hopes to complete research to implement into his Honors research in the fall.
2026
Summer Research Symposium
Wednesday, July 29th 2026
Each summer, PC students dedicate eight weeks to hands-on research under the direct mentorship of faculty— through programs like PC Summer Fellows, SC INBRE, SCICU, and SC NASA. The Summer Research Symposium is where they share what they’ve discovered, through morning presentations and an afternoon poster session open to the whole PC community.
