Active Learning through Independent Study

St. Mary’s Projects

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The most popular undergraduate research opportunity, undertaken by approximately sixty percent of the student body, is the St. Mary’s Project – a culminating project of original research, scholarship or creative performance undertaken in the senior year.

Here are some recent examples of St. Mary’s projects:

• An anthropology project that traced the annual movements of the Piscataway Indians.
• An art history project that explored the advocacy role of landscape artists in the creation of the national parks system.
• A biology project that researched options for oyster restoration in the Chesapeake Bay.
• A chemistry project that analyzed the aromatic compounds in naval aviation jet fuel.
• An economics project that researched the effectiveness of microfinance measures in combating poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• An English project that studied the portrayal of white liberals in civil rights era literature.
• A history project on the experience and appropriation of youth in early twentieth-century Zionism.
• A philosophy project that explored the role of suffering in a meaningful life.
• A political science project that assessed the importance of international intelligence cooperation in countering terrorism.
• A psychology project that studied the effects of pharmacological REM deprivation on spatial memory.

St. Mary’s Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SMURF)

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SMURF is an eight-week summer program at St. Mary’s College in which students from a variety of disciplines work on self-chosen research topics with guidance from faculty mentors.

Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU)

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The REU program is a six week research experience in mathematics available to sophomores and juniors.

Field Research

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Field research opportunities, from humanitarian efforts in The Gambia to archaeological digs in the Chesapeake, are available both locally and abroad.