Students

Two smiling people in a lab wearing gloves and holding lab containers.

Thanks to URSI, Scientific Research is Going Strong at Vassar

Deep cuts in government funding for scientific research have forced many colleges and other institutions to curtail or even eliminate many research programs. This is not the case at Vassar. The College’s Undergraduate Research Summer Institute (URSI) ran right on schedule this summer.

Three people looking over a map while one of the people points something out.

Community Fellows Lend a Valuable Helping Hand to Local Nonprofits

Ten Vassar students gained meaningful work experience this summer while participating in the College’s Community Fellows program, administered by the Office of Community-Engaged Learning (OCEL).

A professor and four students, all smiling, pose in front of a brick fireplace.

Student Researchers and Their Professors Seek to Understand Prejudice and Empathy

Psychological science students dove into some timely issues in social psychology during Vassar’s 2025 Undergraduate Summer Research Institute (URSI)—a unique program that affords closely mentored scientific exploration not typically available at the undergraduate level.

Two people wearing lab coats examine 3D protein structure models on a large computer monitor in a laboratory. One person points at the screen while the other operates the computer.

Students and Professor Unlock Keys to Protein Function In Disease-Causing Bacteria

Thanks to a grant from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement, Associate Professor of Chemistry Krystle McLaughlin has been teaching a class and conducting research with students seeking to unlock the keys to more effective antibiotics.

A photo of Mae Buck ’26, a person with long brown hair and a red dress. Buck is sitting outside in the sunlight with grass in the background.

Rising Senior Earns Scholarship Gold

In a profoundly challenging time for higher-education funding characterized by federal retrenchment and disappearing grants, Mae Buck ’26 has been awarded a Beinecke Scholarship worth $35,000.

Jubilant graduates throw their mortar boards in the air.

Graduates—all 630 of them—Celebrate Four Years at Vassar

Amid the cheers of over 3,000 guests and words of wisdom from fellow alums, College administrators—and even Yoda—more than 600 graduates celebrated Commencement on May 25.

Vassar Students Forge Collaborations and Gain Confidence in International Studies Class

Four Vassar students and two students from Dutchess Community College competed as a team at the National Model United Nations (MNUN) conference in New York City in April.

A group standing together smiling, with trees in the background.

Part of 100 Projects for Peace, Vassar Students Do Good in the World

Over the past two summers, five Vassar students completed initiatives that have promoted literacy, brought clean water to communities in Africa, and combated homelessness in California.

Three people stand in front of a banner that says “The Vassar Institute for the Liberal Arts”. President Elizabeth Bradley, a person with short gray hair and a blue dress, stands between a person with gray hair and a gray suit and a person with gray hair and a blue checked suit.

Improving Graduation Rates Reveals Actionable Findings

Posted 4/30/2025

Vassar presented the findings from its nearly three years of study into why some colleges and universities—even those with limited resources—graduate their students at a far higher rate than others. The research was presented in the context of a convening of educators from a dozen institutions, foundation leaders, and policy makers at The Vassar Institute for the Liberal Arts.