The Chemistry Departments and Biology Departments have introduced centralized application forms for students wishing to conduct research in labs within the department. To view applications forms and learn more about this process, see the links below:
Chemistry Department Research Application Form
Biology Department Research Application Form
Research lets you move from learning things that are known to asking questions about things that are unknown: you will get to be the very first in the world to learn how an aspect of our world works.
Research is a central part of science; like most skills, it is learned best by doing.
There are careers that are fully focused in research, and Ph.D. programs that will pay your tuition and a stipend as you earn a research degree. Trying research out as an undergraduate gives you a chance to discover if it’s something you enjoy, and builds your skill set for future endeavors.
Your scientific “lab”—both your faculty mentor, other students in the lab, and even alumnae—can be another family within your Mount Holyoke community.
You will have chances to travel, meet other scientists, and present your research to others!
The first question you should ask yourself is what are you curious about?
What high school and/or college classes have you liked?
It's totally okay if the answer is you're not sure or you're interested in a bunch of things.
Your undergraduate research doesn’t define what you can do or achieve after your undergraduate degree. The experience of learning how to do research in one area builds lots of transferable skills that will help you if you transition to another area of research entirely.
Keep taking courses outside of your comfort zone!
Once you have found a general area of interest, search for professors who do research in these fields
Start with the Mount Holyoke department “People” pages—faculty will have 2-3 sentences about their research interests and their full profiles will say more. If faculty have their own lab website with more information, you can find a link to it there.
Faculty People Pages at Mount Holyoke (you can always find more with Google!)
Attend a department event on faculty research. Many STEM departments and/or student organizations host events showcasing faculty research. Keep your eyes out for fliers/emails or ask a professor if their department holds such an event.
Annie: I recommend talking to your academic advisor or the professors you are already taking classes with. Additionally, looking at faculty profiles, lab websites, going to research seminars, or poster sessions were extremely helpful for me in learning, and deciding what research labs I wanted to join.
Joining a research lab at Mount Holyoke is a great option because you can do research (for academic credit) during the school year as well as during J-term or the summer. But there are also lots of opportunities to do research at another University.
UMass Amherst may have year-round opportunities, and many research universities will host undergraduates in their labs for the summer.
There are summer undergraduate research programs you can apply to at many universities, especially for students from historically underrepresented groups.
If there’s a city you’d like to live in or an area of research that you’d love to explore, consider sending faculty emails introducing yourself and your interests. Especially if you can bring your own funding (via Lynk), many faculty are excited to help mentor a student interested in their work!
1) When should I join a research lab?
This can depend on a lot of factors, and there's no single "right" answer.
Different faculty have different preferences for the amount of coursework that students have to complete before joining their lab. Chemistry and Biochemistry faculty have put together some additional info on our research interests and when/how students tend to get involved in our labs. If there's a faculty member in another department whose research you're interested in, the best option is to send an email to ask when students typically join their research lab, and if there are courses they like for students to take beforehand.
2) Are there additional resources that could help me learn more?
Yes! Here are a few resources Annie has found helpful:
3) What the heck is a "PI"?
"PI" stands for "Primary Investigator" and is a term often used to describe the head of a research laboratory. Grad students and postdocs are more likely to talk about their "PI" than their "boss."
4) I have some additional advice that I would love to share with other students who are starting on this journey? Can I contribute to this page?
Yes! Please email kberry@mtholyoke.edu with edits, suggestions, or your own story and advice. We'd love to add it.