Application Guidelines for Prospective
Undergraduate Research Assistants
We invite you to apply to join the Developmental Psychopathology
Lab!
1 About Being a Research
Assistant in Our Lab
Research Assistant (RA) positions are available for credit or
volunteering initially, but there may be opportunities for paid
positions for RAs who have been in the laboratory for a while and
demonstrated their commitment and interest. Research assistants will
gain experience with many lab procedures (e.g., collecting data during
child lab visits, data management, and video coding of parent–child
interactions). There are also opportunities to complete honors theses
for students who are interested and who have been in the lab for a
while. Positions in our laboratory may be particularly interesting and
greatly beneficial for those who plan to enter graduate programs in
clinical psychology or developmental psychology. Experience with young
children is highly desirable. Completion of introductory courses in
research methods and statistics is desirable but not required.
Expectations for undergraduate RAs are described here.
2 How Long Am I Expected
to Stay in Lab?
Given the extensive amount of training involved in our lab, RAs are
expected to make a commitment to work in the lab for at least
two semesters for three credit hours (9 hours/week of working in lab,
plus 1 hour weekly lab meeting) each semester. That said, we are
especially interested in prospective RAs who are interested in working
in the lab for much longer than that. The longer the RA stays in lab,
the more opportunities become available to them in terms of advanced
training, advancement, leadership, and independent research projects
(e.g., Honors theses) that can help them be competitive for
graduate/professional school and jobs. To take on a more advanced
training role, RAs are expected to commit to at least three
semesters.
