Special Programs and Opportunities

Research Opportunities

The College encourages the active participation of students in research projects working closely with faculty and/or working on their own independent projects. A number of talented students are able to gain valuable inquiry, library, laboratory and/or field experience while working with professors or independently on research projects during the academic year and the summer break. Student research participation is made possible through external grants obtained by individual faculty members, support to the College from outside funding sources and College-supported grants awarded competitively to students who propose collaborative projects.

The Summer Undergraduate Research Program, or umbrella term “SURP,” encompasses the summer research activities of all Pomona College students irrespective of the funding source or location of the research endeavor. The program enables students to conduct extended, focused research in close cooperation with a Pomona faculty member as a research assistant or delve into an independent research project, on or off campus. Specialized grants are awarded in environmental analysis, media studies, the natural and social sciences and other fields. Projects generally range across all disciplines.

The College supports students’ SURP work with research funds of up to $4,000 each for the summer project. As a culmination of their efforts, students make a presentation of their summer research endeavors to the College community at the Annual Fall Poster Conference. In addition, students with particularly meritorious projects may apply for College support to present their results at a national conference. SURP projects frequently form the basis of a senior exercise project. Titles of a few typical SURP-projects include: “Invariance Relations for Random Walks on Cubic Lattices,” “An Evaluation and Analysis of Legislative and Congressional Redistricting in California: 1974-2004” and “Imaging the Chrysanthemum Princess: Japanese Journalists Cover Princess Masako.”