- Applying for On-Campus Research Opportunities
Each summer Swarthmore students are eligible to participate in a paid 10-week summer research session with department faculty. For many students this work leads to their senior research thesis or to student-faculty co-authored publications in peer-reviewed chemical journals. With support from the supervising faculty member, students can continue their research project during the academic year by registering for Chem 094 (Research Project).
Research projects are supported by a wide range of funding sources including the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Research Corporation, Petroleum Research Fund/ACS, Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Merck/AAAS and Swarthmore College.
Application Process
Students who are interested in applying for an on-campus research opportunity with a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry should:
Attend the Research Opportunities Meeting, typically held at the beginning of November. The Fall 2026 Research Opportunities Meeting will be held Thursday, November 5th from 4:30 - 5:30 pm in SCI 199. If you are unable to attend this meeting, please review each faculty member's research website to learn more about their work (see section Links to Faculty Research Websites below).
- Following the Research Opportunities Meeting students should email the faculty members that they may be interested in working with to learn more about their research program. We recommend that students meet with at least 3 faculty members since positions in any one faculty member’s lab may be limited. Students should plan to complete this process within two weeks of the Research Opportunities Meeting.
- Complete the Research Application by the deadline (typically set just before Thanksgiving break). The Fall 2026 Research Application (see link below) will open on Thursday, November 5th at 5:30 pm and close on Tuesday, November 24th at 5:00 pm.
Link to Apply for an On-Campus Research Opportunity
What comes next? You can expect to hear about the status of your application no later than mid-January. If you are accepted into a lab within the department and you are seeking a paid summer research opportunity, you will also need to complete a short funding application to the College. Your position may be contingent on the availability of funding. Your research supervisor will guide you through the funding process. If you are not accepted into a lab, please know that we do our best to accommodate as many students as possible, but we do have limited capacity. We hope you will apply again next year!
- Off-Campus Research, Employment, and Graduate Opportunities
Swarthmore students compete successfully for paid, off-campus research internships in academic, industrial, and government laboratories. The department maintains a repository of off-campus research, employment, and job opportunities, as well as information sessions about graduate programs in chemistry and related fields. Please use the link below to browse the repository.
Link to 26-27 Off-Campus Research, Employment and Job Opportunities
- Theses
Chemistry and Biochemistry majors have the option of completing an independent research thesis. A thesis requires enrollment in a minimum of two credits of research (typically one credit in each semester of the senior year). One summer of research is also strongly recommended. Completion of a thesis requires concomitant enrollment in Chem 199 (Thesis Workshop course). A thesis can be completed by both course and honors students although some details and deadlines differ. Details of requirements and deadlines will be provided by the instructor who is teaching the Chem 199 Thesis Workshop course.
- Links to Faculty Research Websites
A short description of each faculty member’s research is provided below. Click on each faculty member’s name to learn more about their research!
- Remi Beaulac: Synthesis and opto-electronic characterization of inorganic semiconductor nanocrystals
- Daniela Fera: structural and biochemical characterization of antibody complexes and of kinases
- Chris Graves: synthetic inorganic & organometallic chemistry, catalyst development
- Kathleen Howard: biophysical characterization of molecules embedded in biomembranes
- Brigid Jensen: molecular and biochemical signaling pathways underlying neuronal and glial involvement in ALS/FTD progression
- Stephen Miller: molecular level understanding of bacterial communication
- Paul Rablen: computational physical organic chemistry
- Kathryn Riley: nanomaterial surface properties and interactions with biomolecules
- Sara Sohail: fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy, physical mechanisms of amyloid assembly
- Aurland Watkins: computational solid state chemistry, quantum materials
- Anna Yang: design of molecular building units with built-in functions for hierarchical self-assembly
- Liliya Yatsunyk: non-canonical DNA structures, biophysical characterization and interaction with small molecule ligands
Research
Applications for On-Campus Research are now open! Please use the link below to apply by Tuesday, November 24th at 5 pm. Please also read the section below on Applying for On-Campus Research for more details:
Link to Apply for an On-Campus Research Opportunity
Independent research is an integral part of the undergraduate experience in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Swarthmore College. Students engage in independent research throughout the year in close collaboration with faculty members. Participation in research exposes students to the practice of chemistry as a process of creating new knowledge.
Some students begin research as early as the summer after their sophomore year. Many such projects have led to student-faculty co-authored articles in major chemical journals including The Journal of the American Chemical Society, The Journal of Organic Chemistry, The Journal of Physical Chemistry, and Protein Science.
By completing an independent research project, a student may earn a degree certified by the American Chemical Society. Students also have the opportunity to write a senior thesis based on their independent research - an option that is required for chemistry majors in the Honors Program.
