Join The Lab
Each semester we have a limited number of openings for undergraduate research assistants who are enthusiastic about research and eager to learn more about the research process. Potential research assistants should have good time management skills, pay attention to detail, and be highly intrinsically motivated.
Duties in the lab include operating camera equipment during visits, connecting physiological equipment to participants, data entry, transcribing interviews, coding observations of children and parents, assisting with recruitment, and assisting with psychological testing (language, IQ, etc.). Although you may observe children in the lab, you will not spend your time playing with children.
Highly motivated students in the lab have the opportunity to work closely with Dr. Ekas and graduate students on research projects and can even conduct their own study to present at research conferences. Advanced students have also helped with publications and received authorship credit.
There are several important requirements for being accepted in the lab. Please review these requirements.
Research assistants must be a Psychology, Neuroscience, or Child Development major
Research assistants are required to work 9 hours per week throughout the semester. There is no set schedule, instead you can work around your classes/job. However, you must have some availability during the day and early evening. Given the flexibility, you must have good time management skills.
Research assistants must commit to 2 semesters in the lab. This requirement exists because it takes a while to train research assistants on the various tasks in the lab. This requirement may fluctuate based on success in the lab and unexpected commitments that arise. Students who are studying abroad for a semester may have non-consecutive semesters. Students will receive an invitation to the lab each semester and many students stay in the lab for 3 or more semesters.
Research assistants must have an overall and major GPA of 3.5 or higher. *If you have a strong argument for why this requirement should be waived (I.e., you were pre-med as a first year student; family/medical circumstances, etc.), please detail it on your application*
Although not a requirement, preference is given to students who are contemplating attending graduate school.
If you meet these requirements, please click here to complete the lab application.
Deadline to apply: Each semester I typically have 2-5 spots available and receive 10-15 applications. I review applications in the weeks leading up to the start of class registration and contact students during the first week of registration. Please ensure your application is completed before the start of class registration to have the best chance of being reviewed and contacted.