Whatever major you choose, completing an undergraduate research or creative project is an essential part of your Knox liberal arts education.
Research and creative work give you the opportunity to take what you’ve learned in the classroom and put it to work in the world.
What that ultimately looks like is up to you: Explore the influence of social media on social isolation. Consider the healthcare experiences of underrepresented groups and how it affects outcomes. Write, compose, and perform a musical version of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. Your work may ultimately end up on a stage in Chicago, a prestigious research journal, or in a conference presentation. And it may even help land you your first post-Knox job.
students who complete independent study, research, or creative projects
Power of Experience Grant for every student for use with research and creative work, an internship, or study abroad
Awarded to students through the Richter Awards program since 1995
Deeply exploring your ideas requires an extra investment of time and resources beyond your regular course schedule. From covering the cost of summer housing so that you can keep working on campus to helping you purchase critical supplies, Knox offers a wide variety of programs throughout your college career to help pay for research and creative work.
No matter your major, you can receive funding for research and creative work through the Paul K. and Evalyn Elizabeth Cook Richter Memorial Fund. Submit a grant application for everything from funding for an Honors project or independent study to travel to a conference.
The McNair Scholars Program at Knox College supports and encourages first-generation, income eligible college students and members of underrepresented groups in higher education in the pursuit of a doctoral degree.
Knox Summer Scholars gives students the chance to pursue in-depth projects with faculty mentors and motivated peers.
Think of the Vovis Center as your own personal research assistant. Inside, you’ll find an entire team ready to help you get started on your own research or creative project.
As a newbie researcher, you can get hands-on experience working on collaborative, faculty-led projects during the summer or winter break.
Need financial support for your own independent research or creative work? The Vovis Center can help you apply for funding from Knox or from nationally competitive scholarships and fellowships.
The Vovis Center’s Summer Scholars Program is a competitive program for sophomores and juniors who want to dedicate eight weeks to a research or creative project. In addition to funding for research materials and a stipend for living expenses, participants take part in an intensive Scholars Seminar, digging deep into the research process, learning about graduate programs, and exploring how research fits into their career goals.
Finally, you’ll have the opportunity to share your discoveries with the entire Knox community at the annual HORIZONS symposium. It’s great preparation for future conference presentations.
Who says you need to attend a large school to participate in an on-campus research symposium? Here at Knox, our yearly Horizons feels likes an academic conference that begins with a reception, followed by academic posters and oral presentations.
This year’s event, accommodating the increased volume of research, was spread across multiple locations on campus.
Students from all academic disciplines spread out across campus to showcase the research they had been working on for the past year or more.
“When a liberal arts student does the job, it’s more than just coding. I have to think about creating algorithms, how the project is going to work on the screen, and how the user is going to navigate through each thing on the screen.”
“Wikipedia is the first thing that comes up whenever you search anything, so I always read it. [Through my research in the Knox archives], I’ve really learned about the discrepancy in Wikipedia information for underrepresented groups.”
"All Is Moved by Love" is a song cycle inspired by student poetry from the Seymour Library archives going back as far as 1855. A year of work culminated in a live performance by Casey and musicians he’d worked with in his previous life as a touring performer.