Join Our Lab
Thank you for you interest in possibly becoming involved in our lab.
A team of motivated, intelligent students is integral for our work and we are currently interested in applications for undergraduate and graduate students.
Opportunities for Undergraduate Students
Undergraduate research opportunities include volunteer work, independent study (for course credit), honors research and summer research opportunities.
If you would like to be considered for a research assistant position, please fill out our application form (pdf) and send it to SIM Lab at simlab@brandeis.edu along with a resume and cover letter (one page) outlining your relevant experiences, goals, skills and your overall GPA.
Senior Honors Thesis
Honors research can be among the most significant and rewarding activities of any undergraduate career. Successful completion of honors research requires a substantial, sustained effort, but can repay that effort many times over.
In carrying out an honors project, a student has a chance to make good use of a great many skills acquired in classrooms, laboratories and libraries. An honors project also gives the student a chance to acquire many new, valuable skills, including (1) knowledge of how to manage a large, in-depth study of a single, challenging problem; (2) an understanding of what it means to work as part of a research team; (3) sharpened organizational and communication skills; and (4) an appreciation of how real scientific inquiry is carried out.
Most students who successfully complete honors in psychology report that this process was the most valuable part of their academic training at Brandeis (see the psychology department for honors' prerequisites and mechanics).
Independent Research (PSYC 93A)
Undergraduate students are paired with faculty, advanced graduate students, or other researchers on a one-to-one basis to pursue common research goals in psychology.
Undergraduates serve as apprentices on survey, laboratory, clinical, and field research projects and in return receive guidance in reading and developing research skills. Meetings deal with research methods and design and allow students an opportunity to speak on their research projects. Written assignments include several brief assignments and a final journal-style research report.
In our lab this involves conducting basic research and is often useful preparation for an honors thesis in the same area of research.