Research

Applied Learning With Impact

At Minerva, research is one of the main ways students engage with ideas, test assumptions, and apply knowledge across contexts. It spans disciplines and global settings, encompassing scientific investigation, reflective analysis, creative work, and applied problem-solving.

Students and faculty collaborate around the world through both Minerva-led initiatives and partnerships with external organizations.

Rather than limiting research to a single stage of the academic journey, research is integrated throughout the undergraduate experience:

  • First year: Build foundational research skills through civic and applied projects
  • Throughout the curriculum: Explore research across disciplines and global contexts
  • Final year: Complete a faculty-guided Capstone project

Learning Through Real-World Inquiry

At Minerva, students begin engaging in research early and build toward increasing independence and depth over time.

From their first year, students apply what they learn to real challenges, working across disciplines and contexts as they move.

Applying Learning Through Civic Projects

Students apply what they learn to real-world challenges in collaboration with community organizations, institutions, and industry partners through civic projects in different global cities.

Projects are grounded in the cities where students live and study, helping students apply their learning to real life. Working in teams, students engage directly with professionals, receive mentorship, and develop solutions that respond to real needs.

This work spans areas such as public policy, sustainability, AI, mathematics, and global systems, and often results in tangible outputs such as research, policy recommendations, or product concepts.

Examples from cornerstone civic projects include:

  • Rebranding strategy for the Chinese-American Heritage Museum
  • An educational app for San Francisco pet owners about coyotes
  • An AI-driven database advocating for free San Francisco public transit
  • A data journalism article examining the San Francisco housing crisis

Internships & Work-Based Learning

Minerva students extend their learning beyond the classroom through internships, research partnerships, and work-based experiences with organizations around the world. Working alongside researchers, startups, nonprofits, corporations, and public institutions, students apply their skills to real-world challenges while building professional experience and networks.

These opportunities often serve as launchpads for graduate study, research careers, and entrepreneurship.

Mohamed Yousry ElSadec. Class of 2024. Mohamed combined research opportunities at Minerva with an external internship experience, building expertise at the intersection of biology and computation at National Taiwan University in Taipei. He went on to pursue a PhD in Bioinformatics at Boston University, where he applies data-driven approaches to understanding complex biological systems.
Dimitar Ivanov. Class of 2025. As a Minerva student, Dimitar conducted research with the Brain and Consciousness Lab at National Taiwan University in Taipei, gaining hands-on experience in neuroscience research. He later continued his research journey through an internship with the Oregon National Primate Research Center and is now pursuing a PhD in Neuroscience at Harvard.
Isabele Vitório. Class of 2022. Isa studied galaxy clusters and binary stars through a research mentorship with faculty at Maulana Azad National Urdu University in Hyderabad. The experience connected Minerva students directly with active researchers and helped build a foundation in scientific inquiry and astrophysics. Isa is now pursuing a PhD in Physics at the University of Michigan.
Roujia Wen. Class of 2019. Roujia conducted research at Hanyang University in Seoul, where she used deep neural networks to improve the identification of isolated muons from simulated particle-collision data. She later completed a Master’s degree at Cambridge University and worked at Amazon, before applying her analytical and problem-solving skills to entrepreneurship as a co-founder of Seabound, a climate technology company focused on reducing emissions in the maritime industry.

A Culminating Research & Applied Learning Experience

In their final year, students complete a Senior Capstone Project, an in-depth, faculty-guided project that brings together the skills, perspectives, and experiences developed throughout their Minerva journey.

Capstone projects span a wide range of disciplines and formats, including:

Research studies

Policy analysis

Entrepreneurial ventures

Creative and design-based work

Data and AI applications

Sustainability and systems-focused projects

Students work closely with faculty mentors while exploring complex real-world questions connected to their academic and professional interests.

Capstone projects have explored:

Sustainable food systems and environmental resilience

AI and governance frameworks

Public health and global equity

Financial systems and institutional innovation

Civic engagement and social impact initiatives

More than a culminating academic project, the Capstone is an opportunity to create work that can shape what comes next. Students have used their Capstones to showcase their expertise to employers, strengthen graduate school applications, and even launch new ventures.

Notable Capstone Projects

Elizabeth Crewe

Framework for food retailers to incorporate ecological factors into decision-making

Leo Estrella Dzib

Analysis of gene regulatory networks

Finn-Frederick Hopmann

Collaboration with Bank of America computationally modeling effects of geopolitical disruptions to maritime shipping on supply chains

Raymundo Gonzalez Leal

AI-driven medical imaging startup (Y Combinator-funded)

Tanna Krispil

A stop motion documentary exploring the concept of home

Matt Baughman

Examination of Amazon’s cloud computing pricing strategies using machine learning techniques

Research that Matters

Minerva faculty lead research, scholarly and creative work across all five colleges, spanning fields such as:

Natural Sciences and Bioinformatics

Social Sciences and Public Policy

Computational Sciences and AI

Arts, Humanities, and Communication

Business and Organizational Systems

Faculty research extends beyond traditional publications and conference presentations into applied work that addresses critical global challenges—often through collaborations with external partners or through their own NGOs.

Students frequently work directly with faculty on research and applied initiatives, gaining mentorship and hands-on experience.

Examples of faculty-led initiatives and partnerships include:

Citizenship Coalition — supporting immigrants preparing for the U.S. citizenship exam

SAYDS — empowering youth civic engagement and public policy action in Kenya and globally

Sustainability Policy Research Initiative — Faculty and students collaborate on applied sustainability research across global contexts, producing work that has been presented at international conferences and published in peer-reviewed proceedings.

Kaoru Yokomori presents "The Localization Gap: Structural and Cultural Barriers in Sustainable Development Policy," at the International Conference on Environmental and Economic Impact on Sustainable Development in Bristol, UK, sharing findings from fieldwork conducted across multiple global cities.

"I am genuinely grateful that Minerva's structure allowed me to be involved in research and publication from such an early stage. That kind of opportunity simply does not exist at most universities, especially in the first three years."

- Kaoru Yokomori

Areas of Exploration and Experimentation

Research at Minerva is organized through labs, collaborative initiatives, and interdisciplinary projects that provide opportunities for students and faculty to engage with ongoing work across disciplines and global contexts.

Students and faculty collaborate with:

Local institutions and universities

Industry and nonprofit organizations

Government and policy systems

Research and innovation partners around the world

From scientific research to policy analysis and applied problem-solving, the work is shaped by the environments and communities in which it takes place.

IMPACT Lab
Psychology Labs
AI & Computational Research
Sustainability Labs
Interdisciplinary Research Initiatives

From Inquiry to Impact

Minerva’s approach to research is grounded in application.

Students learn to:

Ask meaningful questions

Analyze complex systems

Test ideas across contexts

Translate insight into action

Continue the Journey

Explore how our curriculum, global immersion, and interdisciplinary approach prepare students to tackle complex challenges and create meaningful impact.

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