Centers & Research

Ideas and innovation that make a difference.

Students and faculty interact research

Through research and outreach, Bվ makes a positive impact in our local community, in Iowa, and beyond.

In labs, offices, and studios across campus, our faculty members are conducting original research, creating artistic works, and contributing to important advocacy and outreach efforts. Many of them also mentor and collaborate with students as they embark on their own research projects.

Bվ is also home to several unique centers, institutes, and outreach programs, each of which offer a range of programming and opportunities for the campus and local community.

Research at Bվ: Creating & Sharing Knowledge

At Bվ, research, scholarship and creative work provides an opportunity for individual students or small groups of students to explore an issue of interest to them in a manner consistent with the discipline and to communicate their results to others. Projects may involve inquiry, design, creation, investigation, research, analysis, discovery, application, writing and/or performance.

Experiments done in a scientific laboratory, archival research, interviews that explore a social or political concern, data collection and analysis, and creation of an artistic work are all examples of research that can involve undergraduate students.

MostBվ students have an opportunity to participate in undergraduate research as part of their course work or by working on research projects outside of the classroom.Travel stipendsallow students to travel to regional or national conferences to present their work. In addition, over twenty students each year get paid to participate in undergraduate research during thesummer.

Every spring thehosted by Bվ showcases the outstanding research conducted by our students.

For questions regarding abstract submissions for the symposium, please contact:aswati.subramanian@simpson.edu.

100+

Present at our annual Research & Creativity Symposium each year

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We offer grants and travel stipends for students to perform and present research.

Grant Application

Summer Research

Participating in a summer undergraduate researchprogram is an opportunity for students and faculty to spend 8-10 weeks focused on research projects. Students get to explore research in their major and they generally receive a stipend and housing allowance.

Bվ hosts several different summer undergraduate research programs on its campus each year including theand the. More information on the current projects from each program can be found on this site.

Each fall, Bվ showcases the summer research conducted by its students during theSummer Research Symposium.

Summer research programs are held for 8 to 10 weeks atcolleges,universities,laboratories, hospitals, and institutes across the country and abroad. They areusually intended forstudentsaftertheir sophomoreor junior years of college, butthere are an increasing number ofprograms thatseek students after their first year. A student’s time at a summer research programis generally devoted toworking in small groups with other undergraduate studentson original research projects under the direction of a professional researcher.

Summer researchprograms usually pay each student a stipend ofseveral thousand dollarsto participate. In addition, they often covertraveland living expenses for the duration of the program andfund travelto present research atconferences.

Tipson applying to summer research programs

  • Customize yourapplication for each program. Indicate why you are specifically interested in that program.
  • Many programs have special niches. For instance, they want to promote graduate school or they want to introduce laboratory skills to students who do not have much laboratory experience. Make sure your personal statement clearly highlights how you fit in this niche.
  • Each programhas different requirementsfor its participants, so pay close attention to them. For example, some programs expecttheir participants to have completed certain classes and the majority require U.S. citizenship.
  • Emphasize your potential by mentioninganyundergraduate research you have completed and any outstanding projects or term papers you have completed for your classes.
  • Indicate any interest in graduate school that you may have. Note that programs in biological or medical fields generally prefer students whohave an interest in graduate school rather than students who are strictly interested in medical school.
  • Ask a professor in your major to read over your application materials.
  • Every application will require recommendation letters. Do not wait until the last minute to request them from your professors!

Links to summer research opportunities on and off campus.

  • On Campus
    • (Mathematics)
  • Off Campus
    • Education and Social Sciences
    • Political Science
    • Science, Technology, Mathematics, Neuroscience
      • at Washington University in St. Louis(International students currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in the United Statesare encouraged to apply)
      • list – (if you are in a science, technology, mathematics, or neuroscience field, you should start your search for a summer program bysearching the NSF list)
      • American Mathematical Society list ()
      • American Physiological Society list ()
      • American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology list ()
      • Center for Disease Control list ()
      • Department of Homeland Security list ()
      • list
      • Oak Ridge National Laboratory list ()
      • University of Alabama at Birmingham
      • University of Alabama at Birmingham
      • University of Iowa – biological and medical scienceslist ()
      • Virginia Bioinformatics Institute list ()
      • (National Weather Center)
      • (Department of Energy)
      • (Mayo Clinic)

Clickherefor the Fall 2017 program.

Clickherefor the Fall 2016 program.

Clickherefor the Fall 2015 program.

Clickherefor the Fall 2014 program.

Symposium Abstract Submission


Our Centers, Institutes & Outreach Programs

Culver lecture 2023

The Culver Center for Public Policy

Civic engagement and activism is alive at Bվ. The renowned nonpartisan John C. Culver Center for Public Policy encourages active participation in democracy and presents students with research, internship, and service opportunities.

The Iowa History Center

This center preserves and promotes Iowa’s story. Its speaker series brings scholars, authors, and public figures to campus, and an internship program places students at local museums and historic sites. It also makes Iowa history accessible to K-12 students through field trip grants.

Dunn Library windows at night

Storm Initative

This interdisciplinary program taps into the entrepreneurial spirit at Bվ. Offerings include specialized electives, an innovation hub, and the cocurricular Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization (CEO) where students earn credit for working on real-world projects.

Student Research Opportunities

Undergraduates students can get involved in research in many ways, from capstone and honors projects to paid summer research positions on campus.

Faculty Directory

Browse our directory to learn more about our faculty members, their teaching interests and areas of expertise, and their contributions to their fields.

Bվ Magazine

Among the many stories, profiles, and news updates in each issue of Bվ Magazine, you can learn about compelling research projects happening on campus and beyond. Explore recent and back issues to see how we’re making an impact.

Student reading The Bվ Magazine

Special Collections & Archives at Dunn Library

For those looking to do specialized research, Dunn Library’s Special Collections is home to the Washington Carver Collection and the Joseph W. Walt Research Library & College Archives.

Wide shot of Dunn Library

Center and Research Stories