Also, if you are interested in research with me. Reach out! 

We can see if our interests align and what projects are available. At ND, this might look like formally working with my advisor, Dr. Kennedy, but weekly mentor meetings with me, and working on coastal boulder problems.

If you are interested in conducting research as an undergraduate:

Why conduct research? Conducting research as an undergraduate is important because it can help you to find a field that you are interested in, and can confirm to you if research is a viable pathway.

How to find an 'undergraduate research position'?

• Look around your department (or adjacent departments) and see if you can find someone doing research that you think is cool! See if they can take on an undergraduate researcher. That usually looks like either a (1) paid position (hourly), or a (2) for-credit research opportunity. 

• Make sure to connect with professors if you are in a class with them and their material or research is interesting to you! Professors are usually approachable, transparent about undergraduate opportunities, and love to talk about their research.  

• It falls on you to reach out to prospective PIs (principal investigators, aka the heads of labs), be professional in your email correspondence. 

• Do your best to find those paid research or internship opportunities that result in conference presentations or even papers. Learning research skills as a mentee will help prepare you to conduct independent research as a graduate student. See REU information below, which combines paid research with end-of-REU conferences.

If you are interested in graduate school (research MS or PhD):

• During your junior to senior year, make sure to contact (email) and network with prospective programs and PIs you might be interested in working with. 

  • What does that look like? Cold emailing prospective PIs. For the first email, I use the three-paragraph structure- similar to a cover letter. I always attach an updated CV when reaching out to professors. Make sure you are conveying why you are interested.

• Check PIs' websites. Often, they will list if they are looking for a student - those would be funded opportunities, called RAs (research assistantships). 

• Funding. Usually, funding for MS or PhD programs is a combination of RAs and TAs (teaching assistantships), depending on the project, PI, and department. 

• Social Media. Update your LinkedIn profile and social media to reflect who you are as a professional. Post when you have milestone updates and connect with professors and groups. This is called building your brand.

• CV. Create a CV and use it when reaching out to professors. There are writing centers on campus that can help with this.

• GRE. Most schools are trending towards a #grexit. The exams cost $$$ to take, sometimes requiring a drive to another state, and many argue it is not an indicator of your ability to be successful as a graduate student. However, some programs still require it. So, do your research.

• Finding a project (and PI) is all about fit. Reflect on your academic journey thus far...do you enjoy laboratory work or fieldwork more (based on your classes and/or research experience)? What are your goals? What is your 5-year plan? 10-year plan? 

• Networking. Connect with one of your mentors (can be a professor, librarian, etc.) and talk about preparing an elevator pitch (30s-1min marketing yourself). Mentors serve a critical role in helping you develop skills in understanding the unspoken conference culture and building strong connections.

• Also, note that if there is support or assistance that you need from your department in taking part in these steps, then ask them. Your academic advisor is a resource and can let you know about travel grants and other financial aid to attend conferences. Your professors are resources as well; you can see if they have funding to support an undergraduate conducting research or if they know of other professors who have that support. 

Showing that you can not only work in a lab (or the field), but that you can communicate and write, are things that graduate programs will look for.

Find state-based conferences (e.g., Idaho Conference of Undergraduate Research) or even university-based (e.g., Boise State Research and Computing Days Conference,  and the Boise State Undergraduate Research Showcase, or Notre Dame College of Science and Engineering Undergraduate Symposium) which provide opportunities that are free where you submit an abstract and get a conference presentation under your belt.

Some funding options for

(1) supporting your research endeavors

(2) celebrate your research excellence

(3) or awarded based on your promise as an early-career researcher

Sophomores and Juniors (Undergraduates)

• Goldwater Scholarship (hyperlinked) 

• Dam Safety ASDSO Scholarship (hyperlinked)

• ASFPM Student Paper Competition (hyperlinked) - open to undergraduates and graduate students

Senior Undergraduates or Graduate Students

• NSF GRFP (hyperlinked) - 3 years of funding towards a PhD $34K/3 years

• NHERI RAPID Graduate Scholars Award (hyperlinked) - fieldwork RAPID deployment data collection

• GSA Graduate Student Research Grant (hyperlinked)

• NASA FINESST (hyperlinked) - $50K/3 years