Undergraduate Research

The next generation of scholars, innovators and leaders won’t be formed by lectures alone. They will be formed in the lab, in the field and in the archive, working alongside faculty on questions that matter. That is why undergraduate research is essential at Bucknell.” 

—Wendy Sternberg, Provost

THE CLASSROOM INTRODUCES A DISCIPLINE. RESEARCH INVITES STUDENTS TO CHANGE IT.

AI can retrieve information. Online programs can deliver instruction. Discovery takes something more. The instinct to ask a better question, test it and see the connection others missed.

At Bucknell, that work starts as early as the first year. And it continues past graduation. Students work one-on-one with expert faculty in their fields, moving beyond studying what is known to exploring what is possible.They choose the questions — ones that matter.

And they are brought into a community of scholars that continues with them throughout their careers. A network of support from faculty and staff to students to alumni that helps them find the spark within themselves and illuminates a previously unseen part of their world.

THEY DON’T JUST LEARN. THEY DISCOVER.

Research turns passive learning into active problem-solving. Bucknell researchers graduate ready for what comes next.

They work with real data and empirical methods alongside dedicated faculty mentors. They examine problems not answered in textbooks. They defend their ideas in public. They arrive at top graduate programs and high-demand careers with a distinct competitive advantage.

Each year, hundreds of students present their work at the Kalman, Engineering, River and Sustainability Symposia, and at national and international conferences. Their research connects them across campus and to communities at our doorstep. Each body of work sits at the intersections that define Bucknell at its best.

THE GAP

Here, scholars are cultivated over four years. Bucknell attracts extraordinary talent, but students arrive with different levels of preparation, networks and familiarity with research opportunities. Without intentional pathways, access to faculty mentorship, meaningful research and competitive fellowships can remain uneven or seem out of reach.

The opportunity is to make the path from curiosity to discovery visible, supported and accessible from day one.

THE PLAN

Bucknell is building a connected framework that moves students from first exposure to sustained engagement and achievement.

• Exposure: Introduce students to research, scholarly communities and what discovery makes possible.
• Access: Open doors through early faculty connections, dedicated pathways and direct student support.
• Opportunity: Fund summer research, mentorship, conference travel and competitive fellowship preparation.
• Engagement: Help students develop ideas they’re passionate about, make connections and contribute new knowledge.
• Persistence: Sustain momentum through multi-year mentorship, financial support and professional networks.
• Achievement: Launch students into graduate study, competitive fellowships and careers where innovation matters.

The result is an education built for discovery.

Already Taking Shape

Three principles guide the work:

• Every student has the potential to contribute to their field. Research gives them the chance. In the lab and the archives. In the studio and in the community. They work alongside faculty who help them recognize that potential and pursue it. 
• Undergraduate research lets students move from learning what others know to asking questions, testing possibilities and confronting uncertainty themselves.
• Investment sustains the journey. Stipends, living support, faculty mentorship and travel make meaningful research possible.

Strategic Model

FROM THE FIRST RESEARCH QUESTION TO THE NEXT GREAT DISCOVERY.

Bucknell’s Office of Undergraduate Fellowships and Research (OUFR) advances three priorities to help students pursue research, compete for fellowships and prepare for what comes next.

• Open doors early: Create structured entry points to research and fellowships for first-year students, transfer students and students in every college and discipline.

• Fund discovery: Stipends, research expenses and conference travel let students pursue questions across every discipline. 

• Sustain momentum: Faculty mentorship, fellowship application support and alumni networks help students turn ambitions into achievement.

Funding Opportunities

• Summer Research Program: $3 million 
  • Supports and names Bucknell’s marquee summer research program, funding student research stipends, housing and food, faculty mentor compensation and research expenses.
• Research Mentor Stipends Fund: $1 million  
  • Supports faculty who mentor student researchers throughout the year
• Faculty Fellowship Partners: $500,000 endowed
  • Supports a rotating pool of expert faculty to guide students through competitive national fellowship applications. 
• Research Mentor Awards: 
  • Recognizes and rewards faculty for exceptional mentorship of student-directed research, particularly across multiple years.
• Program Support:
  • Funds summer research stipends, travel, publication fees and conference costs.

Your Investment Changes the Trajectory. Your support gives students the resources, mentorship and connections to pursue discovery and share it with the world. It ensures that every student who wants to can participate. It helps Bucknell develop the next generation of thinkers, innovators and leaders.

THE FUTURE NEEDS BUCKNELLIANS.

Somewhere on campus, a student is asking a question that could shape a career, change a field or open an entirely new line of inquiry.

You can help them take the next step.

Through hands-on discovery, dedicated mentorship and the freedom to pursue ambitious questions, students learn to think critically, embrace uncertainty and create knowledge that matters.

Your investment helps ensure that every Bucknellian has a path to contribute — not someday, after graduation, but here and now, as a student discovering what they can do.

Be the catalyst behind the first research question, the first breakthrough and the next generation of Bucknell scholars.