Real-World Learning

At Franklin & Marshall, learning happens by doing. You’ll step beyond the classroom and into labs, studios, museums, local businesses, natural habitats, and communities around the world. Across every discipline, F&M students move from theory to purpose-driven action, graduating not only with knowledge, but with the hands-on experience that prepares them to lead now — not later.

Student Research

At F&M, you’ll work and learn side-by-side with faculty to test your ideas — not just read or talk about them. We prioritize the transformative power of hands-on learning to enhance your professional development experiences, including opportunities to participate in groundbreaking research. In fact, the 2025 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education ranked F&M among leading national institutions that prioritize research activity. F&M is also the nation’s #11 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Research (Wall Street Journal-College Pulse). With a 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio, we provide unparalleled access to leading faculty experts, creating a dynamic environment marked by creative collisions in every corner of campus.

At F&M, you could:

• Leverage a unique combination of field research and AI to gauge Chesapeake Bay Watershed quality
• Conduct original research into historic portraiture
• Engage in cutting-edge computer science research in extended reality

Explore resarch at F&M

Internships

Gain experience now and a competitive advantage later. Internships allow you to explore careers of interest and build your portfolio while shaping and inspiring your path after graduation. Our Center for Career and Professional Development will help you discover and secure these positions, guiding you through the internship search, application, and interview processes, and facilitating connections with F&M alumni, parents and friends of the College for potential opportunities. Your advisers can also direct you to generous donor funding that can help offset the financial burden of an unpaid or underpaid summer experience. You can even submit an application to earn academic credit for your internship experience.

At F&M, you could:

• Gain hands-on experience in law by interning for the President Judge of the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas
• Dive into your zeal for classical archaeology by interning at the Near Eastern Collections, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
• Unleash your potential and follow your calling to work with animals by interning for an organization dedicated to training working dogs

EXPLORE INTERNSHIPS AT F&M

Off-Campus Study

Travel the globe to become a well-rounded scholar and person. Studying off campus gives you extraordinary opportunities to encounter, engage with, and understand perspectives around the world, strengthening your ability to live and work in our global society. Off-campus study experiences aren’t simply time away from campus; they’re meaningfully woven into your entire academic journey at F&M. 

At F&M, you could:

• Research diverse marine life in Turks and Caicos
• Explore Danish and Scandinavian design philosophies in Copenhagen
• Study Roman history in the 18th-century city of Bath, one of England’s most significant cultural sites

EXPLORE OFF-CAMPUS STUDY AT F&M

Franklin & Marshall Fellows

At F&M, we believe your college years are a launchpad for lifelong leadership. That’s why we created four distinctive fellowship programs for students who are curious, motivated, and eager to make a positive and immediate impact in the fields of climate and sustainability, creative writing, entrepreneurship, and public service.

At F&M, you could:

• Participate in original, action-oriented research in local watersheds, with the goal of improving stream and groundwater quality and aquatic ecosystem health
• Gain knowledge of literary and cultural activism on both F&M’s campus and in Lancaster while exploring the craft of creative writing and growing as a writer
  
• Develop a "builder's mindset" — learning to identify problems, create solutions, and lead with resilience
• Hone the skills you need to innovate in the public sphere and effect positive change as a future leader

Explore F&M Fellows

Experience Lancaster

To shape the world, start right where you are. Our home city of Lancaster is not only an active urban hub, but also an integral educational partner. Experience Lancaster, a program distinct to F&M, curates and connects you with opportunities to engage in internships, service, research, and more so you can make an impact in your own backyard.

At F&M, you could:

• Preserve American history by interning as a research assistant and archivist at Lancaster’s Historic Rock Ford
• Turn a passion for mathematics into meaningful solutions for the Power Packs Project, a nonprofit combating food insecurity in Lancaster, Lebanon and York counties
• Plan a record-breaking Lancaster Pride festival

Experience Lancaster

Fellowships & Post-Graduate Awards

Fellowships offer often-funded experiential learning opportunities such as advanced study, research, internships, service, travel, and more. At F&M, you’ll find expert guidance and support in discovering and applying for fellowships.

At F&M, you could:

• Move to Japan for a Princeton in Asia (PiA) fellowship at a brewery to learn all aspects of the sake brewing and production process
• Begin your career in global diplomacy through the prestigious Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Graduate Fellowship Program
• Explore the education field and make a meaningful impact in students' lives with Teach for America

Explore post-graduate fellowships