Ways to Get Involved

Each year, more than 350 faculty, well over a thousand undergraduates and several hundred graduate students engage in team-based research through Bass Connections. Projects, courses and summer programs are aligned with six interdisciplinary themes; Bass Connections Open provides additional opportunities for projects outside the themes.

Project Teams

Project teams are generally groups of five to 20 individuals, including at least two team leaders, graduate and undergraduate students, who work together to address a societal challenge through interdisciplinary research and outreach. Projects generally last nine to 12 months. Besides leading a team, faculty may opt to participate on a project team as a contributor, providing occasional guidance. Staff, graduate students, postdocs and trainees/fellows may also co-lead projects, but all projects must include at least one faculty team leader. 

Faculty may propose a project through our annual call for proposals which runs from early September to early November of each year. Faculty are invited to reach out at any time to discuss potential project team ideas. We will occasionally consider off-cycle proposals for projects addressing emerging or time-sensitive issues of strategic importance.

Courses

Around 50 semester-long courses are affiliated with Bass Connections, each infused with interdisciplinary, team-based learning. Faculty who currently teach a course that aligns with this model are invited to reach out to us to discuss how we might spotlight the course. Faculty who are interested in integrating collaborative projects into a course can find resources and example syllabi in our Collaborative Project Courses: Course Design Resource Center and can participate in our Collaborative Project Courses Faculty Fellows Program. 

Summer Programs

Four summer programs offer additional opportunities for faculty to get involved as project sponsors, clients or leaders.

Student Research

Bass Connections offers support for individual and collaborative faculty-mentored, student-led research projects, outside the structure of a project team, course or summer program.

Research Initiatives

Special initiatives provide seed funding for interdisciplinary research into issues such as early childhood development, energy access and biodiversity conservation.