The Summer Undergraduate Research Experience at Carthage offers students in all majors the opportunity to engage in collaborative full-time research with professors. Students work closely with faculty mentors on a new or developing line of research.

SURE has been a hallmark of the Carthage experience since the mid-1990s. SURE started in the natural sciences and grew to include all academic divisions at Carthage. Each summer, between 25 and 50 students are chosen to participate.

Students selected to participate in SURE spend 10 weeks doing research full time (40 hours per week) with a faculty mentor.

All SURE students and faculty mentors maintain regular communication with one another, during which students present their progress. At the end of the program, students are required to write a project report and display their findings at a poster session for the Carthage community.


SURE Research

Carthage SURE projects cover all academic disciplines at Carthage. Here is a look at some of the projects students have tackled in recent years.

See the 2023 SURE projects

See a full list of past research projects by year

Past project topics

  • Examining ableist tropes in literature (English)
  • Design a rocket payload to test a groundbreaking zero-gravity propellant gauge (physics)
  • Studying expert magicians’ views on magic and misdirection (psychology)
  • Surveying the prevalence of burnout among student-athletes (exercise and sports science)
  • Exploring carbon dioxide sensitivity in behaviorally inhibited rates and their consequences of extended space travel (neuroscience)
  • Analyzing the impact of salary cap structures on labor market processes in professional sports leagues (management and marketing)
  • Developing care of the spirit of vulnerable patients with cancer (nursing)
  • Writing a verbatim theater play about the Jacob Blake shooting in Kenosha (theater)
  • Investigating the systemic infection of potato virus Y in potatoes and tobacco (biochemistry)

How to Participate

The Carthage SURE program seeks applicants from students in their first through the third year of study at Carthage and welcomes students from all majors. Students apply to the program during the spring semester. Each academic division at Carthage has its own eligibility guidelines and selection process.

The deadline to apply for SURE in all divisions listed below is Sunday, March 24, 2024.

Learn more

Interested students should speak to their professors and/or the chair of their departments to learn more about SURE opportunities. Research mentors are selected prior to the submission of applications.