Undergraduate Research FAQ

Point of Contact

Professor Francisca (Fran) Cho, Department Chair and Director of Undergraduate Studies, chof@georgetown.edu.

Philosophy of research

We don’t have an idiosyncratic definition of “research.” Generally, it means the student reads on some topic of interest (guided by faculty) and writes up a report on it.

How to get started

Initial research projects may be done in advanced English language courses on East Asian culture; all students directly confront research in the required Senior Seminar.

How to get connected with a faculty mentor

By contacting the professor in the field the student is interested in.

Earning credit for undergraduate research

All majors are required to complete a Senior Seminar 4101 that requires a research project. Some are invited to continue to develop that Seminar paper as an “Honor’s Thesis” the follow semester, which requires the use of East Asian language sources. The Honor’s Thesis does not carry additional academic credit.

Getting paid for research

Undergraduates rarely perform paid research in the department. We don’t find many students with the requisite advanced language ability to help with faculty research in East Asian languages and cultures. That is even a challenge for graduate students (and we do not have our own graduate program).

Thesis or capstone research

Students conduct research for their required Senior Seminar.