Undergraduate Research Programs

Undergraduate Research Programs at CESTA

The Center for Spatial and Textual Analysis (CESTA) is Stanford University’s hub for digital humanities and humanistic social science research. In partnership with the Stanford Humanities Center, CESTA supports collaborative, faculty-led projects that combine digital methods with humanistic inquiry and engage undergraduate, graduate, and faculty researchers in shared scholarly work.

Undergraduate research at CESTA is anchored by its summer program, which provides an intensive, cohort-based research experience. Academic-year opportunities during the Winter and Spring quarters are more limited and vary by funding and project.

Learn more about the anticipated projects available for undergraduate researchers in 2026

Academic Year Opportunities (Winter and Spring Quarters)

During the Winter and Spring quarters, CESTA offers limited undergraduate research opportunities, depending on funding availability. These opportunities focus on placing undergraduate research aides on faculty-led projects and short-term research initiatives brought to CESTA by members of the Stanford community.

Academic-year positions are typically supported through Federal Work-Study and faculty research funds and may take the form of hourly research positions or for-credit research arrangements, coordinated in partnership with faculty and academic departments. Because CESTA is not able to offer a centrally funded undergraduate research program during the academic year, opportunities may be more limited in number and scope than in prior years and will vary by project.

The Digital Humanities Research Aide program is designed for students who are curious about digital humanities, new to the field, or developing foundational skills. Participation during the academic year serves as both a training and recruitment pathway for CESTA’s summer program, helping students build practical skills, methodological awareness, and research confidence.

Students interested in academic-year research are encouraged to monitor program announcements and consult with faculty mentors about project-based or for-credit options.

Digital Humanities Summer Internship Program

CESTA’s Summer Undergraduate Research Program offers an intensive, full-time research experience for undergraduates interested in digital humanities and humanistic social science research. Over ten weeks, students work closely with faculty principal investigators and graduate mentors on active, faculty-led projects that integrate computational methods with humanistic inquiry.

Summer interns contribute meaningfully to ongoing research through activities such as data collection and curation, text and spatial analysis, transcription, visualization, and digital publication. Projects span a wide range of disciplines and methods, and students are supported in developing both technical skills and research confidence, regardless of prior experience with digital humanities.

The summer program also emphasizes mentorship and community. Interns participate in shared programming that may include orientations, skills workshops, research presentations, and opportunities to learn from peers across projects. This cohort-based structure situates individual research within a broader interdisciplinary environment.

The summer program is CESTA’s primary undergraduate research offering and is supported through a combination of institutional and external funding. Participation is competitive and requires a separate application process.

Learn more about the DH Summer Internship Program for Undergraduates