Undergraduate Research

Point of Contact

Students should feel free to contact their respective professors if they are interested in exploring a topic more deeply. Professor Peter C. Pfeiffer, Chair and Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS),  peter.pfeiffer@georgetown.edu, can serve as a more general point of contact if you have questions. Prof. Pfeiffer may also need to approve study plans for individualized Research Tutorials.

Areas of research

Faculty in the German Department do research in humanities-oriented interpretive work in literary and cultural studies as well as applied linguistics, often with data-driven work in the latter area. Some smaller projects with original archival materials have also been proposed and supported. Occasionally, undergraduate students have been invited to participate directly in ongoing research projects and in organizing research conferences and publications resulting from these. There are many forms of research for undergraduates to engage in at any given time. They span from aiding a faculty member in bibliographical research or translating sources to writing independent theses on subjects of individual students’ interest – and they can all be supported by the German Department’s faculty.

How to get started?

If you have an area of knowledge that you want to explore deeply, talk to a faculty member about this and ask them if they are willing to serve as your advisor – and, if appropriate, as your Thesis Tutorial mentor.  It all begins with the student’s interest in a particular area of knowledge that they want to explore deeply. Often, these ideas will be developed in an upper-level courses (level V).

We also offer a research colloquium on exploring local cultures in our Trier Summer Program.

Occasionally, students will be invited by professors to participate in particular research projects.

Credit for undergraduate research

Students can earn credits for their research work if it is done as part of an intensive research Thesis Tutorial. Study plans have to be approved by the DUS.

There is also the opportunity of the research colloquium on exploring local cultures in our Georgetown-Summer-in-Trier Program.

Getting paid for research

Students can receive modest stipends through the GU Research Opportunity Program (GUROP) and similar stipends through the German Department. GUROP students will also receive a transcript notation of their research work.

Thesis or capstone research

Students are invited to write a Senior Honors Thesis on a topic of their interest. Usually, this is done in the context of a level V course and under the guidance of the teacher of that course. Alternatively, seniors can also write a thesis as part of a Senior Honors Tutorial. These are individualized intensive research tutorials organized by the student and a faculty mentor. There is no general or required senior thesis seminar.