Research Opportunities

Philosophy students may enhance their academic experience by participating in faculty-guided research. Each year, qualified philosophy students support faculty research projects as Rains Research Assistants, and others present their own original research at the LMU Undergraduate Research Symposium and at philosophy conferences.

Rains Research Assistant Program

The Rains Research Assistant Program supports faculty research by providing financial support for full-time tenured & tenure-track faculty to hire a student research assistant. Paid assistantships with faculty in this department are available each semester. Faculty typically invite high-achieving students to apply for these assistantships.

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Undergraduates: The Symposium is your opportunity to share your research and creativity with the LMU community. Presentation formats include paper presentations, panel discussions, poster sessions, and presentations of creative endeavors. Creative activities may include performances in music, dance, and theatre, as well as exhibits in the visual arts and film. Learn more.

Recent Undergraduate Research Symposium philosophy presentations include:

  • Brenda Lara: Mestiza Consciousness: An Analysis of Multifaceted Identity and Epistemological Affects [faculty advisor: Brad Stone]
  • Raciel Cuevas: Flowers of Filth: Edmund Burke's Notion of the Sublime and the Beautiful [faculty advisor: Martin Nemoianu]
  • Carolina Nuñez: Eugenio Trías' Ética y condición humana: Its Lessons and Contributions to Modern Philosophical Thought [faculty advisor: Brad Stone]
  • Kathryn Ann Castaneda: The Life Worth Living: A Phenomenological Exploration of The Self [faculty advisor: Gretchen Gusich]

Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP)

The Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) enhances undergraduate education by providing financial support for students wishing to engage in faculty-guided research opportunities and creative activity during the summer. Participation in SURP is a program designed to provide students with insight into the research process. The program culminates with an informal mini-symposium where students have the opportunity to present their work-in-progress to their peers and faculty. Learn more.