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The Murphy Institute
The Murphy Institute is a program that enables a group of McCormick's best undergraduates to engage in self-directed activities of interest to them, with support from faculty advisors. These activities could include on-campus research, involvement with design projects, or engagement in off-campus scholarly work. A Murphy Institute Scholar may follow an existing curriculum, or the Scholar may design his or her own curriculum with individual interests in mind through the Combined Studies degree program.
Major Project:
Murphy Institute Scholars are able to define and pursue a research or design project throughout their four years at Northwestern. Laboratory research, design, entrepreneurial activities, and public policy are among the many possibilities that Scholars might choose to explore. A Murphy Institute Scholar receives an award that is intended to cover supplemental expenses. On-campus activities may be enhanced through summer internships or international programs.
Advising:
Murphy Institute Scholars will be advised by an interdisciplinary team of Faculty Fellows, which has been assembled with the interests of the Scholars in mind. Some members of the advising team may be from other Northwestern schools, from outside the University, or from Northwestern's alumni base.
Seminars:
Murphy Institute Scholars will take part in an interdisciplinary seminar series, Engineering Dialog, organized and presented by Murphy Institute Faculty Fellows and Scholars. Presentations will cover such diverse topics as fighting disease in Africa with engineering solutions, emotional design, saving art through conservation science, or molecular electronic devices.
Courses:
Murphy Institute Scholars will follow the course curriculum of their chosen major or design a curriculum specifically chosen to their interests. In the Engineering First® series, Murphy Scholars will enroll in a special section of Engineering Design and Communication I and II that incorporates concepts from Engineering Analysis.
Becoming a Murphy Scholar:
Participation in the Murphy Institute is by invitation only. Students are invited to serve as Murphy Institute Scholars on the basis of their Northwestern applications.
