Research
Student research at the GPLab
Join our team and have fun exploring the amazing adaptations that animals evolve to communicate in natural environments!
You can obtain professional training through supervised research in any of the areas in this website, or even other areas.
This includes:
anatomy (with dissection, anesthesia and surgery)
electrophysiology (measure how muscles, nerves and brain work)
animal behavior, ecology and evolution
computer programming (mostly audio and image processing)
3D modeling, statistics
acoustics, vibrometry
Of course, you do not need to tap into all of these areas. But independent of your main interest being learning techniques associated with surgery, dealing with computers, dealing with animals and fieldwork or fiddling with fancy equipment, we should have an appropriate project for you.
Undergraduates
Students usually receive:
Credit hours for the semester
Specific training for the activities to be performed
Weekly reading and discussion, which along the semester provides a conceptual framework to support developments by the student
Example syllabus
Application form
Feel free to complete the application form at any time of the year. During the week of early registration for the following semester I will contact people who completed the form for a visit to the lab and discussion of potential projects. We receive more applications that we have positions, so we have to select among the candidates. Previous grades matter, but more importantly, we try to find the best match between interests and available projects, so do answer the questions in the application form carefully.
Thank you for your interest in joining our team!
Marcos
Graduate Students
If you are interested in an MS:
An MS should take about two years to complete. You will take some classes and develop a research project. You will write up the project as a dissertation and present it publicly. A masters can be a great opportunity to get exposed to science, without having the long commitment that a PhD requires.
You can pay your bills by working as a teaching assistant for the department (which is a great way to develop your teaching skills). The University will then pay your tuition, give you a stipend and health insurance.
Check the MS program in the Dept. of Biological Sciences at UOP.
If you are interested in a PhD:
Unfortunately, our department does not offer a PhD program and I am not currently associated with other PhD programs.