 |
Undergraduate Research Opportunities
PSYCH 290, Research Experience in Psychology, and PSYCH 494, Advanced Research in Psychology, provide research opportunities to undergraduate students. Credit hours are granted based on the scope of the work provided.
PSYCH 290s tend to be "entry-level" experiences. You may be doing data entry, transcribing tapes, or photo-copying. Some PSYCH 290s are more extensive and allow you to participate in lab meetings, for example. PSYCH 290 credit is graded as S/U. Your work in the lab will be determined "satisfactory" or "unsatisfactory". 290 hours count toward your overall credits in Psychology and UIUC. They do not effect your GPA and cannot satisfy any specific requirements. Consider PSYCH 290 credit as elective hours.
PSYCH 494s allow students the opportunity to study a topic in greater depth. This may include continuing a PSYCH 290 in more detail/responsibility or just the desire to challenge yourself in a laboratory setting. PSYCH 494 credit is letter graded. Your work in the lab will be graded "A-F". 494 hours count as "advanced hours" in LAS. These hours can be used toward your Psychology and LAS requirements.
Research Fair: Each semester, the department sponsors an informational fair that allows research labs the opportunity to showcase their work. Students are invited to attend this informal fair, ask questions, apply for positions, etc.
Labs can also post research opportunities on this web page. These may be positions available for PSYCH 290/494 credit or paid positions. If you don't see an enticing opportunity now, check back next semester.
Current Research Opportunity Listings:
- Nicole Allen's team is looking for students interested in research on domestic violence. Projects include researching collaborative approaches to changing the systems response to domestic violence and community based advocacy for survivors of domestic violence. Students engage in data collection, entry, analysis, literature review, composition of short reports, and participation in research meetings. Multi-semester involvement is encouraged and a 9-10 hour weekly commitment is required.
Contact: Shaheen Rana [217-244-2066 | Email] - 290 positions available in the COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT LAB! You will work closely with Dr. Andrei Cimpian, a new Assistant Professor in the Developmental division, to study how language influences the development of children's thinking. Responsibilities include testing children and adults, coding videotapes of children, phone calls to parents. Some testing is done in schools, so having a car is a plus. 10 hour/week, 2-semester commitment also preferred. Please apply below if you're interested!
Contact: Andrei Cimpian [Email | Apply Here!] - The Childrearing Lab is recruiting research assistants for Spring 2010. We explore intra and inter cultural variability in parental beliefs and practices concerning childrearing. You may choose to work on 1 of 4 projects: self-esteem, storytelling, racial socialization, or environmental vocabulary. Three hours in the lab equals one credit hour. 290 tasks include transcribing and coding data from home observations and interviews. Email for more info
Contact: Ben Boldt [815.228.6063 | Email] - The Relationships Research Laboratory is looking for students to help out with transcription of interviews.
Responsibilities include attending weekly transcription meeting and an 8-hour/week commitment.
Flexibility:
1. Work from home or in the lab.
2. Work on your own schedule (no required hours that you must be in the laboratory to complete your work)!
Interested?? Then please contact Dr. Roisman at roisman@illinois.edu!
Contact: Glenn Roisman [Email] - The Language Production Lab is looking for undergraduate research assistants in the Fall and Spring sessions. Our lab looks at how adults produce speech. Your responsibilities will include subject running, transcriptions and data coding, among other tasks. Please email us to receive an application.
Contact: Javier Ospina [217 244 5494 | Email | Web Link] - The Adolescent Transitions lab, based in the Department of Educational Psychology, needs undergraduate research assistants this semester! Are you organized, precise, and analytical? Are you an independent worker? Do you want experience collecting data and managing it? Early in the semester, tasks will center on analyzing data from a past project. No data management experience is necessary; training will be provided. Later, tasks will center on collecting data in elementary and middle schools.
Contact: Rhonda Jamison [Email] - The HPP Lab at Beckman is looking for motivated undergraduate 290 students to help with projects examining attention and distraction in driving and street crossing. Research assistants will participate in experimental design, data collection, and data analysis. Candidates interested in multiple semesters are strongly encouraged to apply.
Contact: John Gaspar [Email | Web Link] - HOW you say something can be just as important as WHAT you say. The Communication and Language Lab (CaLL) studies how changes like these affect communication. We are seeking motivated research assistants to work one-on-one with researchers on research projects related to language. 290's in our lab gain experience in all levels of research from experimental design and stimuli creation to running experiments and analyzing data. If interested, please contact Molly Lewis.
Contact: Molly Lewis, Lab Coordinator [Email | CaLL website] - Have you ever wondered how people understand each other, even when they have different accents? The Conversation Lab is looking for 290's for the Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 semesters to do research on how we understand accents. 290's in our lab gain experience in many areas, including stimulus creation and subject testing. A 6-10 hour/week commitment is required. We are particularly interested in underclassmen who would like to continue working with us for more than one semester.
Contact: Alison Trude [Email] - The HPP lab at the Beckman Institute is looking for motivated undergraduates who are interested in getting involved in the lab.
We are investigating how video game training modulates human cognitive functions by using several experimental techniques.
Duties of the RA will include data collection and data analyses.
Contact: Hyunkyu Lee [Email] - Are you interested in how people communicate in conversational settings? The conversation lab has openings for 290 positions during the Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 semesters. Responsibilities include stimulus creation, coding of conversational speech data, subject testing, etc. A 6-10 hour/week commitment is required. We are particularly interested in Freshman, Sophomores and Juniors who could continue working in the lab for more than 1 semester.
Contact: Sarah Brown-Schmidt [Email] - The Social Cognition of Agency, Religion, and Explanation (SCARE) Lab is looking for RAs to join our team this Fall. Current projects include research on the nature/limitations of religious pro-social behavior, the perception of mind in self and others, and moral judgment and decision making. You will have the opportunity to gain experience at all levels of the research process. No previous experience is necessary, just a motivation to learn and get involved in research! Contact Ryan for details
Contact: Ryan S. Ritter [775-313-7091 | Email] - Are you interested in how people recover from trauma? We have openings for 290 positions during summer 2009 and the 2009-10 school year. Responsibilities for dedicated, motivated undergraduates include all aspects of the research process, from recruitment of participants to database creation to coding of transcript data.
Contact: Sadie Larsen
Contact: Sadie Larsen [217-244-4066 | Email] - Seeking MALE undergraduate research assistants to help with research projects involving collecting brain wave and physiological data from adult male psychopaths and boys with conduct disorder. Individuals who are interested will be asked to attend weekly lab meetings and help run participants. Please contact if interested in starting this summer!
Contact: Naomi Sadeh [217-333-7374 | Email] - The Language & Brain Lab needs motivated, responsible students who want research experience for Psych or Ling 290 credit (2-4 credit hours). Join our lab at the Beckman Institute & gain experience in creating stimuli, analyzing data, & running participants in both behavioral and brainwave studies of language. We need people for both Summer 2009 and the 2009-10 academic year. You must be able to work at least 6 hours/week & come to lab meetings.
Contact: Susan Garnsey [Email] - The Infant Cognition Lab is in need of Undergraduate Research Assistants for Fall 2009. A student in our lab receives 3 hours of 290 credit for working two 3-hour shifts. Students are trained to act either as experimenters or as observers during the experiments; they work the same position for the entire semester, but they may request experience in other positions during subsequent semesters.
Contact: Jacklyn Aldridge [217-333-5988 | Email] - The Language Production Lab is looking for native English speakers to work as undergraduate research assistants, for 290 credit, in the Summer II/Fall sessions. Our lab looks at how adults produce speech. Your responsibilities will include subject running, transcriptions and data coding, among other tasks. Please email us to receive an application.
Contact: Matt Rambert [217.244.5494 | Email | Language Production] - The Spatial Cognition Lab is seeking undergraduate research assistants (Psych 290) for Summer’09 and beyond. We conduct research on Virtual Reality, Robot control, human navigation, imagery, object and scene representations, and so on. Primary responsibility is data collection, possibly some data coding. Basic requirement: responsible and able to commit 6-9 hours per week (2-3 credits). If you are interested, please contact us for details.
Contact: Frances Wang [Email] - The HPP lab at the Beckman Institute is looking for motivated undergraduates who are interested in getting involved in the lab. We are currently running a number of different studies involving fitness interventions, cognitive retraining studies etc. Duties of the RA will include data collection and data analyses. Please contact Chitra Basak at basakc@uiuc.edu for more information
Contact: Chitra Basak [244-6763 | Email] - Curious about the impact of immigrant cultures/communities on 2nd-generation mental health? Want to learn about working with focus group data and qualitative inquiry? The Culture & Emotion Lab is looking for energetic, highly motivated, creative research assistants for Spring (and Summer/Fall) for our Chicagoland South Asian American Emerging Adulthood project. You'll assist in running focus groups, transcribing data, conducting lit reviews, developing surveys and analyzing data, as interested.
Contact: Nausheen Masood [Email | Lab Website & 290 Application (link on bottom)] - Curious about the impact of immigrant cultures/communities on 2nd-generation mental health? Want to learn about working with focus group data and qualitative inquiry? The Culture & Emotion Lab is looking for energetic, highly motivated, creative research assistants for Spring (and Summer) for our Chicagoland South Asian American Emerging Adulthood project. You will assist with running focus groups, transcribing data, conducting lit reviews, developing surveys and analyzing data, as interested.
Contact: Nausheen Masood [Email | Lab Website & 290 Application (link on bottom)] - Interested in how childhood experiences impact adult relationships and personality? Want valuable training in data collection, interviewing, data reduction, and analysis? Join the Relationship Research Lab as a 290 this Spring.
Contact: Glenn Roisman [333-1529 | Email] - The Human Ecology of Caregiving Lab is looking for students who are interested in: Cross-cultural aspects of coping with family conflict and college students’ mental health; Family relationships and Latino adolescent mental health; and Family caregiving for adult serious mental illness. Research opportunities include quantitave and qualitative data collection (in Chicago) and analysis. Bilingual (English/Spanish) preferred but not required.
Contact: Michelle Cruz-Santiago [Email] - HOW you say something can be just as important as WHAT you say. The Communication and Language Lab (CaLL) studies how changes like these affect communication. We are seeking motivated research assistants to work one-on-one with researchers on research projects related to language. 290's in our lab gain experience in all levels or research from experimental design and stimuli creation to running experiments and analyzing data.
Contact: Angie Isaacs [333-0280 | Email | More info and an application can be found at the lab webpage] - The Cognitive Development Lab is looking for responsible, self-motivated undergraduate students to work with our lab in a study of child scale errors. 290s will be doing live observation of infants and preschoolers in a daycare setting. More information and applications are available in room 361.
Contact: Stevie Schein [217-244-0716 | Email] - The Culture, Family and Mental Health Lab is looking for bilingual (English/Spanish) students who are interested in research pertaining to Latino Youth and Families. Individuals will gain experience conducting interviews with parents and adolescents in Chicago, video-recording parent-child interactions, conducting ethnographic observations, doing qualitative and quantitative data analysis, and building collaborative relationships with schools and communities.
Contact: Michelle Cruz-Santiago [Email] - The Language Acquisition Lab has openings for undergraduate research assistants in the Spring & Fall semesters, and Summer Session II, every year. Our research explores how 1- to 3-year-olds identify words, learn word meanings, and comprehend sentences. Responsibilities include testing children in experiments, and coding data. If you are interested, please go to our web site to fill out an application form.
Contact: Dinah Armstead [244-6098 | Email | Language Acquisition Lab] - 290 positions available in the COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT LAB! You will work closely with Dr. Andrei Cimpian, a new Assistant Professor in the Developmental division, to study how language influences the development of children's thinking. Responsibilities include testing children and adults, coding videotapes of children, phone calls to parents. Some testing is done in schools, so having a car is a plus. 10 hour/week, 2-semester commitment also preferred. Please apply below if you're interested!
Contact: Andrei Cimpian [Email | Apply here!] - Are you interested in learning about racial minority status and its psychological implications? The Cultural Heritage and Racial Identity Lab is seeking undergraduate students who are eager to gain valuable experiences in literature review, data collection, data entry, and participant recruitment related to projects that answer these important research questions. Please email for an application.
Contact: The Heritage Lab [(217) 244-0671 | Email] - 290 research opportunities for a fluent Spanish speaker. The Biological Processes Project examines children's understanding of death from a cross-cultural perspective. Applications can be found in room 361.
Contact: Isabel Gutierrez [Email] - The Early Emotion Lab, which examines family development, is seeking 290 students to help with research. Responsible, self-motivated students will have a chance to work with families, infants, and preschoolers; to conduct interviews and collect data; to code video tapes of experimental sessions; to enter data on computer; to perform tasks related to developmental research. Applications can be found in room 361.
Contact: Stevie Schein, lab coordinator [244-0716 | Email | Family Development Project Website] - The Center for Parent-Child Studies is looking for highly competent 290 students who enjoy working with families for the 2008-2009 school year. We are examining how parents become involved in their children’s academic lives, and affect motivation, as well as how parents may shape the development of children’s competence. Duties include interviewing participants, coding, and data work. About 3 hours a week required per credit. Please contact Lauren Brenner for more information.
Contact: Lauren Brenner [217-244-9342 | Email] - The Human Ecology of Caregiving Lab is looking for students interested in: * Cross-cultural aspects of coping with family conflict, * Latino adolescent mental health, * Family caregiving for adults with serious mental illness. Training opportunities include data-entry, coding family conflict, and conducting interviews with parents and adolescents. Bilingual (English/Spanish) preferred but not required. Volunteers needed during the summer. If interested e-mail: ecocare@cyrus.psych.uiuc.edu.
Contact: Jorge Ramirez [Email] - The Language & Brain Lab needs motivated, responsible students who are native speakers of Mandarin Chinese and want research experience for Psych or Ling 290 credit (2-4 credit hours). Join our lab at the Beckman Institute & gain experience in creating stimuli, analyzing data, & running participants in both behavioral and brainwave studies of English and Mandarin. You must be able to work at least 6 hours/week & come to lab meetings.
Contact: Yowyu (Brian) Lin [Email] - HPP lab at the Beckman Institute has a research assistant position available starting this summer. You will get experience running participants through the fMRI protocol; analyzing fMRI data and help with running a video-game training study. There are also possibilities open for independent research projects. Preference will be given to students with some sort of a programming experience. If you are interested, please email Ruchika Prakash at rprakash@uiuc.edu
Contact: Ruchika Prakash [244-4461 | Email] - Are you interested in learning how to live a healthier, happier life while helping others do the same? Join the Social Action Lab as a 290 this semester. The Social Action Lab does work on communication, persuasion, and attitude change, with applications to goals and HIV-prevention. We are looking for highly motivated and conscientious students who are interested in learning about social psychology and the research process.
Contact: Wei Wang [Email | Social Action Lab] - The BTW After-School Program is looking for interns who are interested in community-based action research with Latino and African-American children and families. 290/494 Interns will gain experience working with K-8 students, conducting interviews, doing qualitative and quantitative data analysis, and building collaborative relationships with schools and communities. In addition, interns will learn a great deal about community-based action research.
Contact: Michelle Cruz-Santiago [Email]