Research Opportunities for Undergraduates: Frequently Asked Questions

1. Are you an undergraduate interested in course credit for assisting in research?
You can gain experience working one-on-one with a faculty member carrying out psychological and gerontological research, and earn credit toward your degree. You can also gain valuable experience for graduate school or the work force after college.

2. What responsibilities will youhave?
Students assist in a variety of research stages, including developing research studies and the materials for those studies, recruiting participants, testing young and older adult participants, conducting data analyses, and even preparing conference presentations and manuscripts for publication.

3. Do you need previous research experience?
Students who who already have research experience are welcome, but no experience is necessary.

4. What courses are offered to receive research credit?

· PSYC 400-403 -Independent Study (1 to 3 credit hours, with no more than 6 hours applied to the major)

· PSYC 499 -Bachelor's Essay (6 credit hours)

5. What are the prerequisites?
Independent Study research requires a student to be enrolled as a junior or senior at the College, and to have a minimum overall GPA of 3.0. Conducting Bachelor's Essay research requires a student to be enrolled as a senior at the College, and to have a minimum overall GPA of 3.4. If you do not meet these prerequisites and still want to conduct research, you might be able to volunteer your time, contigent on Dr. White's approval.

6. How do I sign up?
If you are interested in working in the lab please first contact Dr. Katherine White to introduce yourself and find out if positions are currently available. You can also fill out the application form and submit it to Dr. White by email. Once you have been accepted, you will register for the appropriate course.