Undergraduate Research Programs

The Department of English at Arizona State University encourages undergraduate research by helping host an interdisciplinary undergraduate research conference each fall and helping fund travel to national conferences for undergraduate English majors. Students who take part in the department's internship program also have opportunities to conduct research.

Students who pursue individual research projects typically find that not only does the experience enhance their studies, it may bring other benefits as well. Creative Writing senior Jannelle Drummond presented for the first time at the 2010 National Undergraduate Literature Conference at Weber State University (Utah):

It was my first conference so I was very excited... I appreciated the opportunity to learn from like-minded students from around the country. I also gained great insight from listening to published authors read and discuss their work. I have never presented my work in an open forum before so that was also a special experience.... I would love to be invited back to the conference next year.... Everyone was nice, helpful and accommodating. It also nice to have a member of ASU's faculty there to support us.

Graduating senior Riki Meier, who will enter the PhD program in English at Tufts University in fall 2010, had this to say about her many conference experiences:

Under the mentorship and guidance of two amazing professors in the English Department (Elizabeth McNeil and Patricia Boyd), I have been able to deeply engage in focused research in several independent study projects--projects that have given me a head-start on graduate school research. I was able to present my research at nine professional, graduate and undergraduate conferences, for which I have received partial travel financial support from the ASU Department of English. Most recently, I presented at the 24th Annual MELUS Conference, the national conference for The Society for the Study of Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States. I was able to converse with many professors working in multi-ethnic literature from around the country, and receive invaluable feedback on my work. My participation in these conferences would not have been possible had it not been for the English Department’s wonderful mentorship and financial support.