One major, endless research opportunities

ILR provides opportunities for undergraduate students to work with professors within their research areas or to pursue independent research. Students involved in research develop close relationships with faculty, become authors or coauthors of published articles, and present at conferences and meetings.

ILR enhances undergraduate participation in research with faculty mentoring and fellowships to financially support projects. Recent undergraduate research projects include:

• Does Competition Between Schools Increase Student Achievement?
• Analyzing the Effects of Microfinance on Low-Income Labor Markets in Andhra Pradesh
• Economic Development versus Human Rights: A Comparative Study of Conflict in the Labor Laws of China and South Korea
• The Effects of Unemployment Benefits on the Probability and Nature of Reemployment
• College Football Bowl Subdivision Head Coaches Compensation: Pay vs. Performance and Race Differentials
• The Changing Role of Women and Minorities in Labor Unions
• Behind Hospital Lines: A Comparison of the Nursing Workplace Structure within the U.S. and UK

Senior Honors Program

ILR seniors in the top 20% of the class who want to conduct an independent research project can receive course credit for a two-semester honors thesis research project.

Rawlings Scholars Program

The Rawlings Scholars program supports up to 200 undergraduates each year from across academic disciplines and colleges to work with faculty mentors to design, plan and carry out individualized research projects. Students receive a research support account ($8,000 for students admitted as freshmen; $5,000 for those admitted as juniors), along with an annual need-based loan replacement of up to $4,000.

ILR senior Matthew Loeb, one of 50 Hunter R. Rawlings III Cornell Presidential Research Scholars presented at the 2011 annual Cornell Presidential Research Scholars Senior Expo. Loeb's research involved a historical analysis of the Sherman Antitrust Act. By sifting through old news articles, court cases and the Congressional Record, he learned about how the act, and the related Clayton Act, affected labor unions in the early 20th century.

The program is part of The Cornell Commitment, which also includes the Meinig Family Cornell National Scholars program and The Cornell Tradition.

For more information on ILR student research, visit the ILR Student Services website.

Also see The Research Paper website: http://rso.cornell.edu/TRP/. The Research Paper is a magazine written and published by undergraduates that features research stories from across the Cornell campus. It's published twice a year.