NMSU Affiliated Activities

Independent Projects and Activities in Your Major

Arts & Humanities majors provide many opportunities to engage in disciplinary research/creativity--that is, the production of knowledge and creative art performed by professionals and professors in your field.  Many majors offer a capstone project, thesis, exhibition, or senior performance.  Internships in your major may already incorporate research/creative production or could serve as the basis for these activities.  Many majors offer opportunities to take part in faculty-led projects, such as theater shows, fieldwork, curation, or journal editing. All of these could provide the basis for an Honors Capstone proposal.  To brainstorm how to get involved, talk to your departmental mentor and CURCA.

Capstone Project: Honors Program

All students with a GPA of 3.5 or higher are eligible to complete a thesis or internship through the Honors College.  Those with a GPA below 3.5 can petition the Dean of Honors to make their case for waiving the minimum GPA.  The Honors Capstone also caps off the complete University Honors program.  Students already completing a thesis or other culminating project for their major can also propose with the Honors College in advance to satisfy the requirements for Honors capstone credit.  

Honors projects can vary widely, depending on the students' interests and proposed approaches. All Honors capstones will:

• Be a significant project beyond the work completed in a standard three credit class
• Be proposed in advance with approval from an advisor and/or the Honors Office
• Require work at a high level (early professional level) appropriate to the field
• Generate an original final product that can be submitted to the Honors Office for documentation
• Be shared with others beyond the advisor and Honors Office
• Be a useful enterprise that elevates student achievement with preparation for next steps beyond NMSU

NMSU Art Museum Internships

Students are welcome and encouraged to seek internship credit hours to gain experience in a variety of museum processes at the NMSU Art Museum, including registration, cataloging, inventory, conservation, and programming. Such internships may be of particular interest to students in the departments of Anthropology, Art, and/or History, but students of any background our welcome. If you are earning the Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies, the University Museum is also a great place to fulfill those requirements. If you are interested in an internship, contact Dr. Fumi Arakawa at farakawa@nmsu.edu.

NMSU Honors Art Collective

In the spring of 2023, Conroy Honors College will be turned into an art gallery featuring artwork in any medium by current Crimson Scholars and Honors students, regardless of professional experience.  Contact Natalia Martinez, project leader and exhibition curator at natmtz@nmsu.edu.

NMSU Juried Student Art Show

Each spring the NMSU Art Museum and Art Department hosts a juried show of artwork in all genres.  All NMSU students are eligible to submit pieces completed within the past 18 months.  Limit: 3 works.  For more information, email artmuseum@nmsu.edu.

NMSU- NBC/Universal News Partnership Internships in Journalism or Engineering

NBC Universal News has announced a new partnership between NMSU and the NBCU Academy to support internships and scholarships in both engineering and journalism.  NBCU Academy is a multiplatform journalism training and development program. Along with scholarships and equipment, the program includes journalists, executives and managers from NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC and Telemundo as guest lecturers and mentors.  For information about opportunities, please contact the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Journalism and Media Studies or the College of Engineering.

Publish your creative writing in The Crimson Thread   

The online journal of the English Undergraduate Student Organization, The Crimson Thread, accepts works of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Submission guidelines can be found on the website at: https://eusocrimsonthread.wixsite.com/crimson/submissions. Authors are invited to include a short bio for publication with the piece. Submissions can be sent for consideration to thecrimsonthreadeuso@gmail.com.  

Undergraduate Research & Creative Arts Symposium (URCAS)

The Undergraduate Research & Creative Arts Symposium is NMSU's annual showcase of undergraduate intellectual enterprise. URCAS has been held every year since 1995.  ALL NMSU students are welcome and encouraged to take part, not just Crimson Scholars or Honors students.  Highlighting student research, artwork, performances, and more, URCAS is a great way to get experience presenting in your field.  Come also to support your friends and classmates and find out what might be possible for you to accomplish at NMSU. URCAS is coordinated by CURCA. For more information, reach out to director Tracey Miller-Tomlinson at tomlin@nmsu.edu.

Research and Creativity Week at NMSU

Each year the Office of Research, Creativity, and Economic Development hosts a week-long celebration, with participation by faculty, students, and community members in panels and keynotes, concerts and exhibits.  Click the header to submit an abstract.  This year, one such event is the Bilingual Poetry Reading, happening March 1, 2024, from 4:30-6pm at Grounded, 300 N. Main.  Submit your work for consideration by Feb. 18 to mariab00@nmsu.edu.  For more information on RCW, email tomlin@nmsu.edu.

National Opportunities

Association of Art Museum Curators Internships

The Association of Art Museum Curators collects listings for undergraduates internships and graduate fellowships at museums around the country.  

Johns Hopkins Humanities Collaboratory for Community College Students

Johns Hopkins University hosts a fully-funded summer research program for community college students working in humanities disciplines.  Students can work in ANY area of the humanities and many past students have been general studies students. This program provides students with a team of mentors and a student-centered experience focused on research modeling and collaboration. Students’ projects are completely individual and customized to their interests; they do not need to have a topic prior to entering the program, as they will spend the first two weeks developing their topics.  Applications are online and are open to any current community college students with an interest in research in the humanities.

Medieval and Early Modern Orients Remote Research Internships 

MEMO seeks to further knowledge and understanding of the early interactions between England and the Islamic Worlds. 8-week MEMO virtual internships place undergraduates in a major digital humanities project, with academic guidance and mentorship (6 hours/week). For info and to apply, email editor@memorients.com

National Undergraduate Research Conference (NCUR)

The National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) promotes undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative activity in all fields of study through its annual conference for students. Unlike meetings of academic professional organizations, this gathering of student scholars welcomes presenters from all institutions of higher learning and from all disciplines. Through this annual conference, NCUR creates a unique environment for the celebration and promotion of undergraduate student achievement; provides models of exemplary research, scholarship, and creative activity; and helps to improve the state of undergraduate education. Each conference hosts 3,500 to 4,000 students from across the globe, presenting their research through posters, oral presentations, visual arts, and performances. Their faculty mentors also attend, often presenting or facilitating faculty/mentor networking sessions.  Propose a topic in the fall; conference in spring. CURCA director can serve as institutional liaison.

Smithsonian Libraries and Archives Summer Internships

These student internships provide hands-on experience in a range of subject areas. Each unique project offers a chance to explore current topics in archives, libraries, and information science and learn from experienced Smithsonian Libraries and Archives staff. For example, interns in the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives Education Department will help build and shape a new digital resource committed to Information and Media Literacy for students grades 6-12. Most internships are virtual/remote opportunities, but one project includes on-site work in the American Art and Portrait Gallery Library. All include a stipend. To apply, go to the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives Internships website.  

Smithsonian Virtual Education Internship

Are you interested in how museums are sites for education and research? Claudine K. Brown Internships in Education are paid, online, 8-week experiences intended to increase participation of students who are underrepresented in the education and museum leadership field. Interns help create, develop, and disseminate innovative educational programs and resources at the Smithsonian, online, in the classroom and in communities.  2023 interns will work with mentors in the Office of the Under Secretary for Education (OUSE).  The application portal will remain open until 100 applications are received (or Feb. 17).   

Virtual Reality / Immersive 3D Visualization NSF-REU

Participants in this paid summer REU program at the City University of New York (CUNY) will receive training in virtual reality, immersive 3D visualization tools and technologies. Each student will be assigned to a team consisting of a research mentor and a REU student, to complete a hands-on project in creative VR/AR/MR and 3D Visualization. The mentoring team includes members not just from computer science but also from diverse backgrounds including film and media, journalism and biological sciences. Some of the planned research projects include: VR for aiding students with learning disabilities, MicroRNA (Ribonucleic Acid) as a regulator for cell lineage plasticity, immersive remote telepresence, indoor robot navigation along with 3D object identification, sonifying the microbiome, and VR for improving inter-personal skills in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) students. This experience will include excursions and social events. Students interested in the possibility of PhD, women, and others from underrepresented backgrounds are especially encouraged to apply.  Past projects at https://wolex.com/reu/reu-projects/ .  To apply, go to https://wolex.com/reu/.

Wooden O Shakespeare Symposium

Concurrent virtual and face-to-face conference at Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah. The Wooden O Symposium is a cross-disciplinary conference exploring Medieval through Early Modern Studies, through the text and performance of Shakespeare’s plays. Scholars from all disciplines are encouraged to submit papers that offer insights and new ideas springing from the era of William Shakespeare. The symposium is hosted by Southern Utah University and the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Scholars attending the conference will have the unique opportunity of immersing themselves in research, text, and performance in one of the most beautiful natural settings in the western United States. For further information, call 435-865-8333 or email education@bard.org. See the linked website for more information and to submit a proposal.

Check out this website: https://www.pacificu.edu/academics/research/undergraduate-research/get-involved-students/campus-summer-research-experiences/arts-humanities