The Undergraduate Research Fellowship

The Mortara Center’s Undergraduate Research Fellowship is a four-year research apprenticeship program. Six first-year School of Foreign Service (SFS) students are selected in the spring semester and paired with a faculty mentor to gain hands-on experience as a research assistant working on advanced research methods and projects. Faculty members play a crucial role in this program by mentoring our Fellows throughout their four years. 

By empowering students as generators, not just consumers, of knowledge, we hope that the Fellows emerge from the program with advanced competencies to tackle qualitative and quantitative research projects, deep knowledge in a specific area, and relationships with professors and with their pairs that inspire and prepare them for their post-graduate career.

The program was started in the spring of 2012 as part of Georgetown University’s strong commitment to undergraduate research. The funding for this program is provided by the SFS Dean’s Leadership Fund and generous donors’ support to the Mortara Center for International Studies.

Annual MURF Symposium

The annual symposium is a cornerstone of the MURF experience. Seniors present their final research, and juniors showcase their ongoing projects. This last symposium in May 2024 was marked by more diverse research mediums, such as documentaries, and greater personal connections to research. The symposium highlighted our MURFs’ academic curiosity and innovative approaches to addressing national and international issues.