Research
At Pitzer, you'll have the opportunity to make important scholarly contributions with faculty who will guide you along the way
At Pitzer you can get involved in research early and often; the experiential nature of the work will enrich your understanding and take your critical expertise to the next level.
Our ten centers and institutes provide you with plenty of opportunities to engage in interdisciplinary research.
Build Your Skills
Pitzer is invested in your future success. Your involvement in research can result from a collaboration with faculty on campus or through successful programs like Research Opportunities for Undergraduates, funded by the National Science Foundation.
Not only that, but pursuing research while a Pitzer undergrad helps build up your skills so you have desirable work experience when starting your career or pursuing graduate school after Pitzer.
As an undergraduate researcher, you’ll develop valuable skills that are highly sought after in professional settings, including:
- Collaboration
- Analysis
- Critical thinking
- Effective communication
- Problem solving
- Organization
- Decision-making
Our Centers & Institutes
Pitzer is home to ten centers and institutes where students and faculty engage with pressing social, cultural, environmental, and political issues through interdisciplinary research, public dialogue, and community action.
Critical Action & Social Advocacy (CASA) Pitzer advances critical analysis and community partnerships around the most pressing issues in the Inland Empire.
The CASA Pitzer space brings local residents, organizers, activists, artists, and nonprofits together with Pitzer College faculty and students to build community and enact change.
The Community Engagement Center (CEC) is dedicated to inspiring the Pitzer community in thoughtful community engagement and Radical Community Care. We connect students and faculty with local organizations to support community-based research, service learning and experiential education opportunities that enhance the social, environmental, cultural and economic health of our communities.
CAPAS aims to promote awareness about issues facing the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) community.
The Department of Natural Sciences is an integrated science community in partnership with Pitzer and Scripps Colleges. Its goal is to ignite student passion and empower scientific capability through dedicated teaching and undergraduate research.
The Firestone Center for Restoration Ecology reserve and field station is a 60 hectare (150 acre) property located on the southwest coast of Costa Rica. Pitzer College manages the site as a biological reserve and logistical base for undergraduate ecological research and field work.
The Institute for Global/Local Action & Study (IGLAS) prepares Pitzer students to become “engaged, socially responsible citizens of the world” by infusing global/local issues in a robust, sequential curriculum that cultivates intercultural literacy and engaged learning throughout students’ academic careers.
Pitzer College Art Galleries believe in the power of art to inspire, engage, and transform. The Galleries’ exhibitions and programs facilitate inquiry into contemporary and historical issues of importance and reflect Pitzer College’s core values of social responsibility, intercultural understanding, interdisciplinary learning, and environmental sustainability. Through collaborations and partnerships with artists, and the Pitzer community, we facilitate meaningful engagement across multiple constituencies and disciplines.
The Robert Redford Conservancy for Southern California Sustainability at Pitzer College aims to increase socio-ecological justice and sustainability in our surrounding communities and beyond through research, advocacy, and environmental education.
The Global Mental Health Lab at Pitzer College, led by Professor Marcus Rodriguez, conducts research to provide new insights into effective ways of leveraging technology, peer-counseling and low-intensity evidence-based strategies and principles of change to increase access to mental health care. Rodriguez founded the lab to give undergraduate students hands-on research opportunities in clinical psychology alongside local and international partners, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty.
Hands-On Lab Experience
Professor Marcus Rodriguez founded the Global Mental Health Lab to give undergraduate students research opportunities in clinical psychology.
Read More About the Global Mental Health Lab
“I know a lot of people who wanted to go straight to grad school but couldn’t because they lacked the credentials. This lab set up my lab mates and me for the smooth transition into the grad school pipeline.”
Huei Ming Lim ’25
Psychology major, Global Mental Health Lab student
Journeys of Discovery
From Classroom to Community
Vanessa Bautista ’27, a sociology major, worked as a summer research assistant at Critical Action + Social Advocacy (CASA) Pitzer, helping to build, promote, and coordinate a Cultural Organizing Train-the-Trainer Program with community partners, students, staff, faculty, and others.
Learn about CASA Pitzer
The Roots of Goodness
Sophie Myers '27 collaborated with Professor Phil Zuckerberg, researching possible motivations for altruistic behavior in people who are atheistic or who grew up in environments without a belief in God. Their article was published in the journal Secularism & Nonreligion. Read the article.
Learn About Our Secular Studies ProgramProfessors as Mentors
Chanchanok Sudta researched butterflies with Professor Don McFarlane at Pitzer’s Firestone Center for Restoration Ecology in Costa Rica.
Read Chanchanok's Story
“If I went to a big university, I might not have had the chance to do research for 10 weeks in another country. I got to interact closely with professors. I didn’t know what I wanted to do for grad school, and they showed me the path forward. Many of them influenced how I show up in the program I’m in now.”
Chanchanok Sudta '18
Biology major
Research Programs, Grants & Awards
- Department of Natural Sciences Summer Research Program
The Department of Natural Sciences of Pitzer and Scripps Colleges offers an extensive summer research program, in which students receive paid ten-week fellowships to work with faculty throughout the department. Contact the Department of Natural Sciences for more information.
- National Science Foundation (NSF) – Research Opportunities for Undergraduates (REU)
NSF funds many undergraduate research opportunities through its REU Sites program. An REU Site consists of a small group of undergraduates who work in the research programs of the host institution. Students are granted stipends and, in many cases, assistance with housing and travel. Undergraduate students supported with NSF funds must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States or its possessions. Learn more about NSF support.
- JF Harmon Summer Faculty-Student Research Assistantship Program
This program provides Pitzer students a stipend to undertake a full-time, eight-week research assistantship with a faculty member during the summer. Learn more about the program.
- Student Research and Award Funds
Each academic year, the College awards grants to Pitzer students to assist them with research connected to independent study and senior thesis projects.
- Pitzer Internship Fund
Pitzer students engage in meaningful summer internship experiences that facilitate career exploration and the development of professional skills and networks. Students apply through an established, committee-based process, with applications due around Spring Break. Students can also apply to the Pitzer Internship Fund to support off-campus research opportunities.
- Conference Travel Fund
Pitzer students who are presenting at an academic conference in collaboration with Pitzer faculty can receive funding to help cover travel costs.
Contact the Dean of Faculty's Office for more information on research funding and grants.
- The Katie Lawson Endowed Memorial Award
Grants are awarded to students (typically sophomores and juniors majoring in psychology or sociology) who propose projects involving community engagement, rather than library research. Number and dollar amounts awarded yearly vary – typically three to five awards of $500 to $1,500 each.
Contact the Dean of Faculty's Office for more information.
Contact Us
Contact our office for more information on research programs, grants, and awards.