Resources for Undergraduates

Our Advice on Finding a Research Lab as an Undergraduate

Working in a faculty research lab during undergraduate is a great way to figure out if a career in research is right for you as well as start building your skills and knowledge-base for graduate school. A common misconception about finding a research lab to work in is that you need to have a strong background / experience in hands-on science skills in order to be accepted. In reality, most individuals looking for undergraduates to work in their lab have no expectation that you will be coming in with any experience. The main attributes that people generally look for are: good communication, good note-taking, dependable/reliable, and interested in the work. Wet-lab skills, such as how to use a micropipetter, can be easily taught whereas things such as enthusiasm for the work can not.

Most universities will have a undergraduate research office. We suggest starting your search there! This office will typically have a bunch of advice for undergraduates interested in joining a faculty research lab and may additionally host informational seminars. Additionally, many universities have an undergraduate research “job board” where undergraduate positions will be posted by labs.

Outside of formally posted positions, you can also cold-email Principle Investigators (PI, the head of the lab) or lab members (graduate students or post-doctoral researchers) asking if there is a position available for an undergraduate. A great place to get ideas of who to email can be from the professors who are lecturing your classes! When it comes to emailing, remember that people are busy and if they do not respond right away don’t take it personally. (Just think about how times you forgot to text your friend back). Emails are easily lost or forgotten about, so feel free to send a reminder email 1-2 weeks after the initial email! If the lab you emailed doesn’t have space available, you can ask if they know of any similar labs that do. This is how you grow your network as well!

Other Neuroscience-related Organizations at UW

Neuroscience Undergraduate Reading Program (NURP)

NURP is a individually mentored journal club. Every quarter you can apply to the program to be an undergraduate mentee. You will be paired with a graduate student or post-doctoral fellow doing neuroscience-related work at UW. Over the quarter, the mentee-mentor pair will read literature related to the mentor’s work. At the end of the quarter, mentees present at the end-of-quarter NURP symposium.

website: uwnurp.wordpress.com
instagram: @nurp_uw
email: nurp@uw.edu

Grey Matters

Grey Matters is an undergraduate-ran organization focused on making neuroscience research accessible. They accomplish this through publishing a magazine, producing podcasts, hosting events, doing outreach, etc.

website: greymattersjournal.org
instagram: @greymattersjournal

Neurobiology Club

website: https://students.washington.edu/nbioclub/index.php

Fill out this form if you are a UW neuroscience club and want to be highlighted here! https://forms.gle/s5NF1xMseqzYZUQP6