For Prospective Students

Are you a UW-Madison undergraduate student interested in gaining research experience in the Cognitive Development and Media Lab? See below for more details! 

For any other questions, please contact our lab manager, Eleanor Desing, at edesing@wisc.edu. 

What do we study? We study how children and families play and learn in the digital age. Specific questions in our current research include: How does parents' wellbeing relate to children's media use? What is the impact of background television on children's play and parent-child interactions? What types of educational media are most effective for early learning? 

What do undergraduate students do? All students must attend weekly lab meetings. Other activities vary over the course of each semester, depending on each student's experience, interests, and availability. Specific examples include: recruiting families for research projects; doing field work with children/families in preschools or museums; coding videos; entering data; designing research materials; conducting literature reviews; analyzing data; and disseminating research findings to the general public.

 Who is eligible to apply? There are no strict requirements. However, we typically prioritize students who (1) can commit to at least two full semesters in the lab, (2) can commit to at least 6 hours per week (including our weekly lab meeting), (3) have a cumulative GPA at or above 3.0, and (4) are enrolled in the HDFS major.

Can undergraduate students earn credit for lab experience? Many students earn credit by enrolling in HDFS 592: Research Experience in HDFS. Additionally, some students may complete an independent senior thesis in the lab; students must work in the lab at least one full semester before proposing an independent senior thesis.

How do undergraduates apply? Students typically apply the semester before they wish to join the lab. Please complete our lab application. If there are spaces available, one of the lab leadership team members will follow up with you to schedule an interview, usually one week before class registration begins (i.e., early April for students hoping to join the lab the following fall, early October for students hoping to join the lab the following spring).