Thank you for your interest in undergraduate research. The Dean's Scholars Program and the College of Natural Sciences sincerely hope that this guide will help in answering a few questions you might have regarding the approach and selection of interesting labs.

This guide was created by members of the Dean's Scholars Program to list participating faculty in the College of Natural Sciences who are open to the idea of accepting undergraduates for research positions, along with each professor's prior requirements (or not), and an expected long-term commitment.  These faculty members either voluntarily completed an online survey or were personally interviewed by students.  All information pertaining to each professor should be read as direct quotes-- there were no modifications of what was either entered in the survey or spoken over the phone.  The guide is growing as more professors complete the survey or are interviewed -- please check the listings periodically for updates.

If you should find any stale links or other such nonsense, please email.

Notes

General	Department	Websites
Courses	Time Commitments	Experience
Classification

General

• The page is not an absolute indicator of open or filled undergraduate positions in participating laboratories.
• The preferred method of contact for most professors is E-mail.
• Do not send a general E-mail to more than 3 professors at one time.   Contact each one individually.
• Time is valuable.  With the first email you send professors, please tell them as much as you can about your qualifications, your past courses, your experiences, whether you want course credit, whether you want to be paid, and motivation.  It's competitive, and you need to take the time initially to get as much information about yourself to the professors.  
• A research position is contingent upon an individual interview, usually during the professor's office hours.

Department
If you have time, take a look at professors in other departments. For example, there are members of the physics and mathematics departments whose focus is biologically based. Likewise, there are chemistry faculty whose focus is based on computing sciences and mathematics.

Website

• If available, visit potential professors' websites.
• If ambitious, read a professor's publication.

Courses

• It has been noticed that some professors prefer that a potential student will have taken one of their courses. This is not usually an absolute requirement.
• A few courses (especially in biology) inherently overlap. If you feel you have taken an equivalent course, please mention it to the professor.
• The course requirement is stringent to some, lenient with others--recommended courses are open to discussion with each professor.  The mileage varies greatly in this block.

Time Commitments

• Remember your intended courseload during the semester(s) you plan to research.  Hours will usually vary with class scheduling, exam schedules, and finals.
• The "Weekly" section of the table indicates approximately how many hours per week an undergraduate student is expected to research.  
• The "Long-Term" section is an approximate, minimum time that a professor would want an undergraduate to remain as a member in the lab.
• Do let professors know if you will be taking the MCAT/DAT/GRE in a researching semester/summer and how you will plan your weekly hours.
• Most faculty prefer planned blocks of time such as 2-3+ hours several times a week dedicated to research, as opposed to 1 or 2 hours each day of the week. Please discuss this topic with each professor in the interview.
• The long-term commitment trend is:  the longer the better. Although...
• A number of professors are open to accepting graduating seniors and those seeking a summer research experience as well.
• If you can, print a copy of your next semester's class schedule and take it with you to interviews.

Prior Experience

• Prior experience is typically not necessary.
• If you have any unique talents in any field of science, mention them.  
• Sometimes experience in a lower-division lab is preferred/required.

Classification Preference

• Classification preference can be inferred from course requirements.
• If you have significant experience or proficiency in a professor's work, classification preference is typically ignored.

Top of page.