Discover the world as it is. Imagine the world as it could be.

At HWS you can engage in collaborative research that tackles age-old problems and emerging issues. Build analytical skills that are portable to any profession. Publish and present your work at professional conferences. Be part of building a better world.

It’s the kind of opportunity most students don’t get until graduate school. But it’s all here for you from day one.




See a problem?
Research

We’ll pay you to find the solution.

Undergraduate Research

Working directly with a faculty mentor on their research, you’ll dive deep on a topic of interest while honing your critical thinking and problem solving skills. To top it off, you’ll spend your summer lakeside, living rent-free and receiving a stipend for your efforts.

Projects range in length, type and discipline, and the application process is competitive. This past summer, more than 90 students engaged in a research opportunity.

A recent sampling of projects:

  • Aquatic Ecology Research in the Finger Lakes
  • Chemistry of Art
  • The Dark Sides of Development and Entrepreneurship
  • Drug Development of Anti-Cancer Agents
  • From Beyond: Staging Geneva’s Unheard Voices
  • Shakespeare on Screen
  • Stream Salamanders and Land Use Legacy
  • Winter Weather and Lake Effect Snow Storms

Learn more about Undergraduate Research

Honors Program

Graduate with Honors by undertaking a year-long independent research project or creative work under the guidance of an Honors Faculty Adviser. The most sophisticated work in our curriculum, projects culminate in a written and oral examination and are assessed by your faculty adviser as well as an examination committee.

25-35 students complete honors each year. Recent projects include:

  • An Assessment of Canada’s Position in a Global Economy
  • Becoming Empathetic: An Exploration of Empathetic Masculinities on Campus
  • Exploring and Abstracting Intimacy in the Female Form
  • Ivory, Ink, and Onionskin: Lyric Essays
  • Mercury Bioaccumulation in Fish Food Webs of New York State Finger Lakes’ Tributaries
  • Professionalization of Past Criminality and Addiction: How Former Prisoners and Addicts Manage a “Professional Ex” Identity
  • Portable Hydroelectric: Generating Energy in Remote Locations
  • Roman Red Sea Trade: An Analysis of Trade in the First and Second Centuries C. E.

Learn more about the Honors Program

The Better Future
Research

Is One We Make Together

The Finger Lakes Institute (FLI)

The William Scandling

The William Scandling

The Colleges steel hulled, 65 ft., research vessel has access to various lakes including Seneca, Cayuga & Ontario for student and faculty classroom and research activities.

Explore marine ecology on board the Colleges’ research vessel, do collaborative, interdisciplinary research with an HWS professor, and advance environmental education for local middle and high school students. FLI promotes environmental research and shares information about the Finger Lakes Region while fostering environmental stewardship and sustainable development.

Learn more about The Finger Lakes Institute

Community-Based Research

Work collaboratively with a partner from the Geneva area and a faculty mentor to help solve an issue that is vital to our community. These semester-long projects occur independently or as part of a class and are completed by students from across disciplines.

Learn more and read recent project results.

Happening at HWS