Research From the Humanities and Social Sciences
Start your GCU
journey today.
journey today.
We're here to help.
The College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Grand Canyon University integrates the Canyon Emerging Scholars (CES) Program into its academic framework, offering students transformative research experiences through interdisciplinary collaboration and community engagement. Grounded in the Boyer model of scholarship, CES facilitates faculty-led research in curricular and co-curricular settings, mentoring students in practical problem-solving across various fields. Students reflect on their work’s academic and social impact through applied, integrative and discovery-based approaches, exemplifying GCU’s commitment to fostering ethically grounded, community-oriented inquiry.
Featured research opportunities in the Canyon Emerging Scholars program:
The E.P.I.C. Lab applies positive psychology to promote human flourishing across Arizona communities. Students research resilience, mindfulness and self-efficacy through basic and applied psychology, aligning with GCU’s mission.
The Economic Mobility and Opportunity Lab empowers students to explore systemic barriers to advancement and develop strategies that promote human flourishing. Through hands-on research and policy analysis, scholars bridge theory and practice, focusing on biblical justice.
The Loyalty Project explores how loyalty shapes identity, relationships and society. Through multidisciplinary research, students examine loyalty’s role in fostering trust, resilience and ethical decision-making across diverse domains.
The Division of Budding Lope-Philosophers uses analytic philosophy to explore deep theological and philosophical questions from a Christian perspective. Students produce rigorous scholarship that serves both faith communities and broader intellectual audiences.
Help develop a balanced and broad skill set by exploring interdisciplinary research conducted by Grand Canyon University's scholars. You can also advance your knowledge of learning and teaching best practices by reviewing GCU's Journal of Institutional Research (JIR).
The in-depth research of GCU scholars will engage you with academic inquiry, insight and trends related to counseling, psychology and other social sciences within our increasingly complex global environment.
Advancing excellence is the purpose of the Center for Innovation in Research and Teaching (CIRT). This faculty-driven organization supports the development of creativity, critical thinking and learning in a wide range of disciplines in order to create an integrated community of educators. For more information on CIRT, visit cirt.gcu.edu
CIRT publishes JIR online once each year. JIR helps enhance scholarly understanding and application of best practices in college teaching. Learn how to obtain certifications, prepare for scholarly research and apply for a variety of grants, visit cirt.gcu.edu
To protect the safety of all human subjects in GCU-conducted research, GCU established the Institutional Review Board (IRB) to govern all research that includes human subjects. The IRB oversees every aspect of research, ensuring studies follow ethical practices as well as current regulatory standards. Learn more about IRB.
Get involved, get inspired and help shape the future through research.
