Regardless of your area of interest, you’ll find a wide range of research and internship opportunities in Furman’s Sociology Department.
Research Opportunities
Our faculty encourage students to take part in both group and independent research projects, and Furman students can often be found presenting their papers at regional and national conferences. In addition to Furman’s summer research and internship fellowship program, our department supports individualized research. Past research projects conducted by our majors include:
- Studying Furman students through interviews and surveys: How do interactions with faculty impact students’ sense of belonging and academic confidence? How do microaggressions affect students’ sense of belonging? How do students’ political ideologies change during their four years on campus?
- Investigating social institutions using content analysis: What are the messages about gender shared in megachurches on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day? How did colleges respond to the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020?
- Analyzing large-scale datasets: How does social class mobility shape individuals’ attitudes toward inequality and welfare in the U.S.? How does childhood poverty impact educational performance around the world?
Institutional Review Board Proposals and Consent Forms
If you are conducting research with human subjects you must submit an Institutional Review Board (IRB) proposal to the IRB. You can find the IRB proposal forms on the Institutional Review Board website. As part of this process, you will submit an informed consent form. To create a consent form for your research, review the following examples of Informed Consent Forms.
Internship Opportunities
Our internship placement process begins with you. Once our faculty understand what you want to do for a living, they’ll help place you in an internship with an organization in that field, whether it’s a homeless shelter, law office, or media company.
Internship for Course Credit
Gain practical experience in a variety of local social service agencies by enrolling in an individualized internship (SOC 503). Interns complete at least 120 hours of on-site activities relating to their internship objectives, participate in scheduled seminar meetings, workshops, and field research exercises, and meet regularly with the internship director and agency supervisor.
Summer Research & Internships Fellows
Furman offers one of the few programs in the country that directly funds student internships and research experiences, providing competitive fellowships for students who would otherwise receive little or no payment. Find out how we can fund your research project or internship.