Research Opportunities

Many of our students participate in ongoing research projects with University faculty or work with a faculty mentor to develop a project of their own. GES faculty enjoy working with undergraduates, but your opportunities are not limited to GES faculty. Talk with your instructors, advisors, and your peers to identify any University faculty member working in an area that interests you! Our students work with social scientists and historians, and they conduct scientific research in laboratories and in the field. Whether within CLA or at the Medical School, CFANS, CBS, the Institute on the Environment, or the Population Center, there are important questions waiting for you!

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

We encourage you to apply for the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP). This program, sponsored by the Office of Undergraduate Research, supports research projects dedicated to fulfilling the U of M’s commitment to expanding the store of human knowledge and expression. If your application is successful, you will receive a scholarship and an opportunity to present your research at various university symposia.

Students who earn a UROP scholarship will be mentored by one of nearly 3,000 diverse faculty members and will meet other students who share a passion for discovery. The UROP will help you delve deeply into a personal topic of interest and importance under the direct supervision of a faculty member in the department.

Center for Dendrochronology

Students interested in biophysical geography can find research opportunities in the department’s Center for Dendrochronology Lab located on the 5th floor of the Social Science building. Specializing in the development and interpretation of primary tree-ring datasets for application in the environmental sciences, the Center for Dendrochronology has been the research home for undergraduate students studying diverse topics such as political ecology, environmental history, paleoclimatology, water quality, landscape disturbance, time series analysis, and more.