Purpose
The purpose of this page is to give any undergraduate student who is interested in research the tools for finding a part time research position.
This Page In Short:
Find potential research advisors by looking up undergradute research fairs at your school and look through the posters that people presented, find what's interesting to you and who the advisors are. In your first email to a potential advisor your goal is to get a timely response, not to immedietaly get offered the position. There is an appendix of undergraduate research presentations at some Michigan Universities at the end.
This is the email template I recommend using, with the subject line "Opportunities in (name of advisor)'s Lab ":
Hi Professor X (name_of_professor),
I saw your student's (name) work in (Undergraduate research fair name). This seemed like really neat work! I'm interested in getting involved in (field). Would you be availble to meet (speicfy time i.e. next week) to discuss about opportunities in the lab?
All The Best,
(my full name)
My Background
I'm Jeremy Rebenstock, a PhD Student in Applied Physics at the University of Michigan. In the Fall of my freshman year at my undergraduate institution, Michigan State University, I emailed probably 10 professors soliciting a position in research. Most ignored me, but I did get a few responses; all were No's. This was without a doubt due to my poorly written long solicitation email. After hearing a professor from my friends physics class was looking for a student research assistant, I contacted him, shortly later was interviewed, and got the position. I continued in that lab for 3 years, was an author on two papers and finished doing research my senior year in a different group. This year my little sister began college and wanted to find a position doing research in molecular biology. I helped her draft an email and got a response within 3 days from each professor she contacted offering to meet to discuss joining their respective labs. I've been asked by a number of people for advice finding and getting research positions. Here I will share that advice.
Please feel free to reach out to me (jrebenst@umich.edu) with questions.
Note: This page is a work in progress and is actively being edited
Finding Research
In order to find research, you first must find yourself. Why do you want to do research? Geniuniely. What is the reason you want to be involved in a group working on the cutting edge of some topic, advancing the knowledge of the world? It's not an easy thing to do. I reccomend writing your motivations down, maybe even in big letters before even choosing what field you want to study.
(For example My purpose is a deep seeded curiosity in understanding the mechanisms of the universe, and a desire to to push technology forward to help people. Another reason may be "I want to understand and help fix a biological process that my friend suffers from." or "I am deeply curious about the evolution of why whales evolved the way they did". A reason like "I want to have something on my resume to apply to medical school" or "I want to get a Phd and you need research to get a PhD," are not great answers. Though they may genarically be true, consider why do you want to go to medical school or get a PhD? The answer to that question is likely closer to your true motivation. If you don't have a good reason that's also okay! Think about it though, and if right now you just feel like you want to that's alright. )
Now that you know why you want do research, it's time to make a list of research topics and potential advisors to do research with. A good place to start creating the list is by:
Look up (your university) undergradute research fair/symposium and look through the posters that people presented, find what's interesting to you and who the advisors are. (you can add specifications to the search if you know ) (link Michigan Example)
Ask peers who are doing research who their advisors are and if they're taking students.
Ask Professors directly if they're taking students or know of labs doing research in the field you're interested in.
Once you have a name of a professor in the field youre interested in, you can go to Google Scholar, a place to find researchers and their papers. You can see the researchers collaborators on this site to see more options of people to work with. I highly reccomend only contacting associate, assistant, or full professors, because these people will be the most actively engaged in research. Emiritus professors are essentially retired, and postdocs (post doctoral researchers ) do not typically have hiring capabilites.
Now you should have a list of people to work with, the field you want to work in, and your reason for being interested in doing research. If you can rank the professors by your interest in their research do that.
This is all you need to reach out to prepare to reach out to a professor.
Contacting Professors
The goals of the first email contacting the professor is to
1. Get a response
2. Communicate that you want to do research with the potential advisor
3. Show evidence that you did background research into the professor
The email does NOT need to:
1. convince the professor to hire you
2. Explain your grades in your course work
3. Have a long introduction.
The longer the email the less likely the professor reads the whole thing.
This is the email template I recommend using, with the subject line "Opportunities in (name of advisor)'s Lab ":
Hi Professor A,
I saw your student's (name) work in (Undergraduate research fair name). This seemed like really neat work! I'm interested in getting involved in (field). Would you be availble to meet (speicfy time i.e. next week) to discuss about opportunities in the lab?
All The Best,
(My full name)
That's IT!
No need for long introduction. No need to say why you want the job. No need to explain that even though you're a freshman you can do great! You can do this all during the meeting.
Hopefully the professor will respond. Sometimes professors don't respond to their emails quickly though, so don't sweat it if you don't hear back for a few days. If the professor has a position they will likely want to know some things about you, like what classes you took, your schedule, how many hours you have available to work each week and potentially your resume. These are all things you should be able to provide. When communicating of course be sure to use proper grammer, spell peoples names correctly, and be kind.
Sample expectated response:
Hi Jeremy,
Do you have any prior research experience? What classes have you taken that are relavant to lab work?
In the Interview/ meeting.
Treat it like a typical job interview. I reccomend wearing something a little nicer than what you typically wear. I also recomend having a question or two prepared. An easy thing to ask about would be the subject that the professor studoies.
I encourage the celebration of successes! After sending the emails, after getting a response, after getting the position, treat yourself, and recognize you did a good job. These things are hard and rewards are good motivation!
FAQ:
Q: What if I can't decide what topic I want to study?
A: There's so many intersting topics, this is a really common concern! My advice is to narrow down the fields first by what's available. What opportunities are at your university? What Professors have taken undergraduate researchers before and what do they study? Look at these. If you still can't decide, just try emailing a few people who do work that sounds interesting and see who bites. Joining a research group is not a commitment to your future research or your future career. It is okay to tell a potential advisor you want to work with them, even if you are not sure you want to commit to working for them or in their field for all of undergrad. A research project may spark an interest for a graduate degree, or may elucidate a topic you're not interested in. Either result is good for you in the long run.
Q: What if I'm not getting responses to my emails?
A: I'm sorry to hear you're not getting responses. There are a few things I reccomend doing.
Reread the initial email - check that you got the professor's name right, the research field, and other important details.
Send a follow up. This is appropriate if roughly two weeks have passed from your initial email. The follow up should:
Remind the advisor of your first contact/ who you are.
Reiterate your interest in the field
Ask to meet to talk about opportunities
Be breif. - you don't need more than this
If another week passes you can send a third short email with the same aims as the first follow up.
*If you are really interested in working with a certain advisor and they did not respond still, you can try
Catching them at their office and asking them about their research. Do be prepared with at least one question for them.
Emailing someone less senior in the lab, like a postdoc or graduate student. In this case ask about their research and for them to nudge their professor to see if there are openings in the group.
Contact more advisors. Professors are very busy people, sometimes they do not prioritize responding to emails and if they do not respond to 3 of your emails it likely indicates they are not able to accomodate for more students currently. You can reach out to them again a few months in the future (like at the start of the next semester).
GOOD LUCK!
Q: How does undergraduate research work?
A: It can vary a lot, between countries, universities, departments, and labs! Every research group is composed of different people so every group is different. Undergraduate research may start with tasks that are more brute than intellectual, whether coding, a wet lab, or document searching. As you become proficient at the basic workings and tools of the lab, you will likely gain more responsibility, and the ability to do things un(or less)supervised. Typically undergraduate researchers are supervised by either grad students or postdoctoral researchers, who may be more familair with the exact procedures of the work. As you ask questions to understand the processes you work on, you may find a question that hasn't been answered before, and this can potentially become the topic of a paper! That's research!
Q: How much time a week should I work on research?
A: Generally 10 hours a week is enough to make progress on a project a week. More than 2o hours, would likely be a lot if you're also taking classes.
Q: Should I ask to get paid?
A: Yeah! Unless the professor says specifically you won't be. A nice way to ask for a paid position is to say "Do you have funding to support this position and if so what is the hourly rate?". This is an appropriate thing to ask during the interview or after the professor express interest in having you join the group over email.
Q: What do I do when I meet with the professor for the first time?
A: It's an interview. If they meet with you they likely will be willing to hire you. Show interest, be yourself, answer their questions honestly, and ask your own questions to the prof.
Q: I am a freshman, can I be useful in a lab?
A: Yes! There are many aspects of doing research, and everyone needs to learn them at some point. Some professors prefer hiring freshman because they can stick around for a while to make meaningful contributions over a few years. Ask lots of questions (this goes to everyone), and record the answers when you can so you can remember them, and share the answers if you get asked the question! Ask when you don't understand things or terms are used that you don't know!
Q: What should I do if I don't like my advisor
A: That's a tough position to be in. You can leave any lab. You are allowed to quit if that's what you need to do. You should do what's best for you. Try talking to peers, or other advisors to ask for more specific advice. If you can talk to your advisor about your issues then that can be a good choice.
Q: What should I do if I don't see my advisor often enough?
A: Often enough is determined by you. First try to get the resources you need from people you see more often like other students or postdocs in the group. If you feel you need more support, reach out over email to your advisor to arange a meeting. If they don't respond, try swinging by their office, and be prepared to talk about what's on your mind.
Resource Appendix
Eastern Michigan University:
Michigan State University:
MSU Undergrad research office: https://urca.msu.edu/learn
Symposium/abstract book:
University of Michigan:
UROP: https://lsa.umich.edu/urop/prospective-students/fall-winter-programs/traditional-urop.html
General Advice: https://lsa.umich.edu/chem/undergraduates/student-research/how-to-find-an-undergraduate-research-experience.html
Symposium: