Religious Studies

Active Undergraduate Research

Department of Religious Studies Undergraduate Research Award

Majors and minors in Religious Studies are invited to submit their research for the department’s Undergraduate Research Award, which includes a $200 prize. The research should be from the past three semesters (no earlier than Spring 2015) and may consist of essays, poster presentations, or other research projects done for a Religious Studies course or under the supervision of Religious Studies faculty. Research papers should be at least seven double-spaced pages. Other research projects should be accompanied by a narrative of at least two double-spaced pages. The deadline for submissions is March 15.  Submit applications to religiousstudies@utk.edu. 

Entries will be evaluated by a committee of three Religious Studies faculty from different regional specializations that will rotate its members annually on a regular basis. Each entry will be evaluated by two faculty members, and faculty will recuse themselves from evaluating their own students’ work. Submissions will be evaluated on the quality and originality of research and their contributions to the field of Religious Studies. The winner will be announced at the annual department awards ceremony in late April.

Research Travel Support

The Department has two funds that it can use to support travel and expenses related to research, whether locally, nationally, or internationally.  Awards cannot exceed $500.

  1. The Undergraduate Research and Travel Fund
  2. The SCOUT Fund (Service and Community Outreach at UT)

Students are also advised to visit or consult the Center for International Education, especially the McClure Scholarship Fund. 

Research Opportunities

For more information on Undergraduate Research at UT (such as working with a faculty member over the summer), click here or consult a faculty member. 

For service-learning projects, consult the Office of Service-Learning as well as your faculty mentor.

Taylor Thomas ’16 talks about her successes, opportunities, and travels as an undergraduate researcher in Religious Studies. Note: this video originally formed part of the department’s VOLstarter campaign to raise funds for the new Undergraduate Research and Travel Fund in fall 2016.