Graduate Research Opportunities

The College of Arts and Sciences is dedicated to furthering research and innovation in our many different majors and disciplines. Graduate research is an amazing opportunity to work closely with faculty members to advance new knowledge and have a tangible impact on the world. By taking advantage of a graduate research position students can explore career options while also building new transferable skills. Students can search opportunities by department, faculty name, and project summary.

If you have additional opportunities, please visit the CAS Research Database to add your information.

^{*This site was updated August 2023}

Anthropology

Contact Information	Summary	Qualification and/or Requirements	How to Apply	Compensation
Dr. Keri Brondo kbrondo@memphis.edu	Research assistance on impact of tourism and housing development on cultural and environmental change in Bay Islands, Honduras. Coding and analysis of interviews; building online cultural heritage exhibit; possible fieldwork opportunities in Honduras.	Applicant should have some training in ethnographic methods and analysis.	Contact Dr. Brondo by email: kbrondo@memphis.edu	Please work with an assigned faculty member to see if opportunities for internship or research credit are possible.

Biology

Contact Information	Summary	Qualification and/or Requirements	How to Apply	Compensation
Dr. Omar Skalli oskalli@memphis.edu	Role of cytoskeletal proteins in neurite extension.	Major in Biology, cell biology	Contact Dr. Skalli by email: oskalli@memphis.edu	Please work with an assigned faculty member to see if opportunities for internship or research credit are possible.

Chemistry

Contact Information	Summary	Qualification and/or Requirements	How to Apply	Compensation
Dr. Charles Garner cgarner7@memphis.edu	Organic synthesis and analysis	Applicant should have graduate standing in the Department of Chemistry	Contact Dr. Garner by email: cgarner7@memphis.edu	Departmental stipend or possible grant support is available
Dr. Yongmei Wang ywang@memphis.edu	Please see PI's webpage for specific projects.	Follow graduate school admission rule; applicant should be good in math and tech-savvy	Apply to graduate school admission or contact Dr. Wang if applicant does not wish to get a degree in chemistry.	Please work with an assigned faculty member to see if opportunities for internship or research credit are possible.

Earth Sciences

Contact Information	Summary	Qualification and/or Requirements	How to Apply	Compensation
Dr. Angela Antipova antipova@memphis.edu	1. Travel behavior patterns before and after COVID and social disadvantage. 2. Induced travel. 3. Health outcomes and social disadvantage. 4. Urban form and COVID. 5. Health outcomes and air pollution.	Applicant must be knowledgeable of GIS (ArcMap, TransCAD), ability to do spatial analysis (SAS, SPSS), and applying statistics	Contact Dr. Antipova by email: antipova@memphis.edu	Please work with an assigned faculty member to see if opportunities for internship or research credit are possible.
Dr. William Jackson wtjckson@memphis.edu	Conduct a complete tectonic study on sedimentary deposits ranging in age from 80-550 million years old in northern New Mexico, southern Wyoming, northeastern Alabama, or eastern Tennessee.	Applicant should have an undergraduate degree in a physical science field (preferably geology or a related discipline).	Contact Dr. Jackson by email: wtjckson@memphis.edu	Teaching and research graduate assistantships are available
Dr. Youngsang Kwon ykwon@memphis.edu	R programming to manage large spatial forest inventory database to analyze tree species response to changing environment	Applicant should have a basic knowledge of GIS and R programming	Contact Dr. Kwon by email with your qualifications: ykwon@memphis.edu	Please work with an assigned faculty member to see if opportunities for internship or research credit are possible.

History

Contact Information	Summary	Qualification and/or Requirements	How to Apply	Compensation
Dr. Suzanne Onstine sonstine@memphis.edu	Archaeological project in Egypt where graduate students assist with all aspects of the project.	Applicant must be enrolled in the Egyptology concentration in History or Art History	Contact Dr. Onstine by email: sonstine@memphis.edu	Please work with an assigned faculty member to see if opportunities for internship or research credit are possible.

Institute for Intelligent Systems/English

Contact Information	Summary	Qualification and/or Requirements	How to Apply	Compensation
Dr. Leah Windsor Leah.Windsor@memphis.edu	How does what we say reveal who we are? The Languages Across Cultures lab studies language patterns to help understand international politics, the relationships between people, and how language can help to predict future behavior and activities.	Some knowledge of quantitative methods is preferred. At minimum, a strong desire to learn and robust inquisitiveness about the world. Intellectual curiosity is mandatory.	Interested applicants should email Leah.Windsor@memphis.edu.	Graduate assistantships may be possible. Students can also get course credit through independent studies. I am also available to serve on MA and PhD committees as either Chair or committee member.

Mathematical Sciences

Contact Information	Summary	Qualification and/or Requirements	How to Apply	Compensation
Dr. Thomas Hagen thagen@memphis.edu	Graduate projects (both master's and PhD level) in Applied Analysis and Differential Equations with a focus on applications become available on a regular basis.	Projects are limited to graduate students in Mathematics who have taken significant advanced courses (4000 or higher) with me and have shown promise to do well with research. Relevant graduate coursework in the intended area of research is a given. Computational skills are a plus. PhD students must have passed the PhD qualifying exam. Students working as graduate assistants must have passed the SPEAK test with a score that meets the requirements for continued teaching.	Graduate students who (a) satisfy the stated requirements, and (b) are interested in Applied Analysis, Differential Equations and applications in engineering and the sciences, may contact Dr. Hagen via email (thagen@memphis.edu) to make an appointment for further discussion. Ad-hoc meetings following departmental functions are also good opportunities to talk with me.	Please work with an assigned faculty member to see if opportunities for internship or research credit are possible.

Psychology

Contact Information	Summary	Qualification and/or Requirements	How to Apply	Compensation
Dr. Kristoffer Berlin ksberlin@memphis.edu	CHILL Lab’s program of research in pediatric diabetes is focused on the cultural, familial, and behavioral factors that promote wellness and reduce morbidity among families made vulnerable to disparate outcomes given their positionality amid intersecting ecological systems of inequality/privilege. It is the mission of the CHILL lab to promote thriving in all children and families. In line with this mission, we work together on projects that personally and collectively matter to us, centering our values-based activities (research, teaching, service, and advocacy) most broadly on projects that attempt to promote equity and flourishing.	Qualifications and requirements vary. Minimum 5 hours per week commitment is needed.	Contact Dr. Berlin by email: ksberlin@memphis.edu	Please work with an assigned faculty member to see if opportunities for internship or research credit are possible.
Dr. Deranda Lester dbrewer@memphis.edu	We study the neurochemistry of reward, motivation, attention, and anxiety. Graduate students lead the projects and can be involved in real-time dopamine recordings in living rodents, plus brain dissection, electrode construction, histology, stereology, data analysis, behavioral tests, and more.	Graduate students should have completed courses in statistics, research methods, and physiological psychology (or some kind of neuroscience / neurobiology / pharmacology course).	Contact Dr. Lester by email: dbrewer@memphis.edu	Graduate students have the opportunity to earn credit hours plus research assistantships and/or teaching assistantships.
Dr. Rory Pfund rapfund@memphis.edu	Dr. Pfund oversees a variety of research projects evaluating the effects of psychological treatments among individuals experiencing gambling disorder and substance use disorder.	Preference is given to students who completed psychology courses in statistics and research methods and can commit to more than one year in the lab.	Contact Dr. Pfund by email: rapfund@memphis.edu	Please work with an assigned faculty member to see if opportunities for internship or research credit are possible.
Dr. Helen Sable hjsable@memphis.edu	Projects focus on neurobiology of externalizing disorders (ADHD, addiction)	Applicants must be accepted into the psychology MSGP or Experimental PhD program.	Contact Dr. Sable by email: hjsable@memphis.edu	Graduate Assistantship for PhD students; possible assistantship for Master's levels students
Dr. Nicholas Simon nwsimon@memphis.edu	Identifying the neural circuits underlying risk/reward decision-making. We measure activity during decision-making using electrophysiology and manipulate this activity using chemogenetics.	Must be enrolled in relevant PhD program, must enroll in Behavioral Neuroscience or Neuropsychopharmacology in the Psychology Dept.	Contact Dr. Simon by email: nwsimon@memphis.edu	Graduate students in the Psychology department receive tuition and a stipend.

School of Social Work

Contact Information	Summary	Qualification and/or Requirements	How to Apply	Compensation
Dr. Elena Delavega mdlavega@memphis.edu	Administer surveys of people in poverty utilizing a cell phone or tablet and QR code or link. Organize poverty simulations and assist in poverty simulations.	Willingness to learn and enthusiasm for the work.	Contact Dr. Delavega by email: mdlavega@memphis.edu	Please work with an assigned faculty member to see if opportunities for internship or research credit are possible.
Dr. Susan Elswick selswick@memphis.edu	Graduate students provide direct therapeutic services via telehealth under supervision of licensed clinicians. This is through the SMART Center.	Must be in a behavioral health graduate program (social work, counseling , clinical mental health psychology). Prefer second year students with clinical base knowledge.	Contact Dr. Elswick by email: selswick@memphis.edu	Student stipends of $20 an hour for up to 15 hours a week. Paid through grants.

World Languages and Literatures

Contact Information	Summary	Qualification and/or Requirements	How to Apply	Compensation
Dr. Melanie Conroy mrconroy@memphis.edu	Dr. Conroy is working on a map of European writers that will include both network diagrams and geographical maps. More information on the project can be found at the link below: https://blogs.memphis.edu/19thcenturynetworks/	Applicants must be able to use Excel or similar software. Some familiarity with map making or network software would be a plus. I use Open Refine and Gephi but students do not need to be familiar with those software packages.	Contact Melanie Conroy by email: mrconroy@memphis.edu	Please work with an assigned faculty member to see if opportunities for internship or research credit are possible.