Mentored Student Research

Summer student researchers - looking for housing? Scroll down for info on summer stipends!

Presidential Scholars

Our programs fund the highly competitive Presidential Scholars program.

Kilmer Fund

Our programs support impressive research through the Kilmer Fund.

Kilmer Labs

Our programs fund faculty members’ research projects and expand research opportunities for undergraduates and graduate students.

Learn More

For summer 2023, we are piloting a new grant program to support student researchers on campus between terms. Students engaged in Kilmer-related activities in Potsdam between May and August are eligible for housing support during the time they're engaged in research.

For students with an existing individual Kilmer grant, housing grants will be no more than $1000. However, if students will not spend the full $1000 of their Kilmer grant on materials, they may apply the remainder to housing support, up to $2000 total.
For students participating in a Kilmer lab, the limit of support per student is $1500.
If budget constraints come into play, preference will be given to those students who are engaged in unpaid research projects, but we will consider all requests.

On-campus summer housing is available from May 22 to August 11, at a rate of $30 per night if the student wants to share a room with another student, and $35 per night for anyone who wants a double room as a single. If a student has off-campus leases or rental agreements already established, we will work with them individually to pay a portion of their housing expenses.

Students can apply for the summer housing stipend at this link: https://forms.office.com/r/Qu5dVzn7C3

Please reach out to appliedlearning@potsdam.edu with any questions, and our front office team will figure out how to get your questions answered as quickly as possible!

Spotlight on Student Researchers

"A Once in a Lifetime Opportunity"

A lifelong curiosity about the inner workings of humankind brought Alexandra Sveshnikova '25 to the SUNY Potsdam Department of Anthropology. The fire of that curiosity will be fueled by a research trip this summer to Kenya, where she will be part of a cutting-edge examination of our origins and the history that preceded human tenure on Earth.

Combating Disease Through Education

For Whitney Callaghan ’17 & ’21, out-of-the-classroom experiences proved to be immensely important, like her semester-long internship at Planned Parenthood in Saranac Lake. Her primary role involved educating youth about sexual assault prevention. She also completed a research project examining the risk factors for chlamydia in St. Lawrence and Franklin County, and interviewed people about prevention methods. An internship with the Franklin County Department of Public Health rounded out her real-world training.

SUNY Potsdam Awards for Research Showcase Student Achievement & Adaptability

In a time of adaption for the higher education world, participants in the 2020 SUNY Potsdam Learning and Research Fair found some surprising benefits in the online format made necessary by the COVID-19 pandemic. The winners were selected from some 30 entries spanning the arts, sciences, social sciences and humanities. With fewer entries to evaluate in 2020, and more time to spend with the student researchers, judges were able to dig deeper into methods, conclusions and academic approaches of the contestants via Zoom interviews.

Working Hard for Others

Serena Rockingster ’19 is determined to live a life of giving. A magna cum laude graduate with a bachelor of arts degree in psychology and a minor in women’s and gender studies, Rockingster, of Brooklyn, sees herself as a professor and clinical psychologist far down the road of her future.

Genevieve Ruhland ’18

Before Genevieve Ruhland ’18 wrapped up her double major in music education and math this year, she directed a 70-minute experimental percussion performance in the Academic Quad—a project that allowed her to explore less mainstream percussion music as part of her Presidential Scholars research.

Mahala Nyberg ’18

As a SUNY Potsdam Presidential Scholar, Mahala Nyberg ’18 worked extensively on a project focused on the life of WWII Veteran Donald Waful. She is now a senior and wrapping up a challenging course load with a double major in history and archaeological studies.

Alexis Michael '18

As one of 21 students working on independent research projects through the Presidential Scholars Program this year, Alexis Michael ’18, a double major in archaeology and history, took aim at an experiment that could change archaeologists’ theories about when Indigenous populations first used the bow and arrow in Eastern North America.

See what our office can do for you!

Lougheed Center for Applied Learning
Lougheed Learning Commons, 107
(315) 267-2507
appliedlearning@potsdam.edu