PSYCH 290, Research Experience in Psychology, and PSYCH 494, Advanced Research in Psychology, provide research opportunities to undergraduate students. Credit hours are granted based on the scope of the work provided.
PSYCH 290s tend to be "entry-level" experiences. You may be doing data entry, transcribing tapes, or photo-copying. Some PSYCH 290s are more extensive and allow you to participate in lab meetings, for example. PSYCH 290 credit is graded as S/U. Your work in the lab will be determined "satisfactory" or "unsatisfactory". 290 hours count toward your overall credits in Psychology and UIUC. They do not effect your GPA and cannot satisfy any specific requirements. Consider PSYCH 290 credit as elective hours.
PSYCH 494s allow students the opportunity to study a topic in greater depth. This may include continuing a PSYCH 290 in more detail/responsibility or just the desire to challenge yourself in a laboratory setting. PSYCH 494 credit is letter graded. Your work in the lab will be graded "A-F". 494 hours count as "advanced hours" in LAS. These hours can be used toward your Psychology and LAS requirements.
Research Fair: Each semester, the department sponsors an informational fair that allows research labs the opportunity to showcase their work. Students are invited to attend this informal fair, ask questions, apply for positions, etc.
Labs can also post research opportunities on this web page. These may be positions available for PSYCH 290/494 credit or paid positions. If you don't see an enticing opportunity now, check back next semester.
Current Research Opportunity Listings:
Are you interested in the processes that allow people to have conversations? Ever notice that how someone says something is as important as what they say in successful communication? Become a summer assistant in the CaLL Lab (approx. 10hr/wk) and help with studies of prosody and conversation. Responsibilities include designing stimuli, recruiting subjects, using an eye-tracker, and coding data.
If you are interested, please fill out a brief application at the link below. Contact: Dominique Simmons [Email | CaLL Assistant Application]
The Family Studies Lab seeks undergraduates to assist in our lab on the SHARE Project(Social Health and Relationships in Education). The project looks at peer victimization across the school years and is currently in local middle schools. We are looking for students for summer and Fall 2012. If you are interested please e-mail or call for an application or more information. Contact: Alison Dupre [649-2437 | Email]
Are you interested in infants' expectations about the world? Each semester the Infant Cognition Lab hires undergraduate students as Research Assistants. Research Assistants get hands-on experience running experiments with infants and are a vital part of the lab’s operation. We are looking for students for Summer Session II 2012. If you are interested please e-mail Jaclyn Aldridge for an application. Contact: Jaclyn Aldridge [217-333-5988 | Email | Web Link]
Interested in how to motivate children in school? Our research team studies how parents can optimize children's achievement. Join our team to work with families visiting our lab. We are looking for researchers for the summer and fall 2012. If you are interested, please email or call us for an application. Contact: Dianna Moore [(217)265-6378 | Email | Center for Parent-Child Studies Website]
The Emotion and Behavior Lab seeks volunteer research assistants or Psych 290s for Summer and Fall 2012. You must be motivated and responsible and have a flexible schedule. The 290 students will help with a large study on genes and environmental influences on substance use outcomes in offenders, and a study on self-harm and negative affect. Visit our web site below to download an application. Return applications by email. Contact: Edelyn Verona [Email | Emotion and Behavior Lab Website (Verona Lab)]
Are you interested in conversation? How do we find common ground when we are talking to another person? How does sleep change your ability to adapt to someone's voice? If so, being a 290 is a great opportunity. Positions available Summer and Fall 2012. Minimum 2 credit hours. For more information and an application form, see our webpage Contact: Sarah Brown-Schmidt [Email | Web Link]
Are you interested in how children identify sound patterns of their language, learn the meaning of new words, and comprehend sentences? Then the Language Acquisition Lab is a great research opportunity for you! We are looking for students for summer and Fall 2012. If you are interested please visit our lab website for more information and to fill out an application. Contact: Language Lab [244-6098 | Email | Language Acquisition Lab Opportunities]
603 East Daniel St., Champaign, IL 61820 • Phone: (217) 333-0631 • Fax: (217) 244-5876
