Undergraduate Research Assistant Application

Who We Are Looking For

We are looking for motivated, detail-oriented, and hard-working undergraduates to join the lab! As a research assistant, you will help design and conduct studies, create stimuli, recruit participants, and input, process, and analyze data. From the lab website ( you can learn more about our research interests and the particular research we conduct. We work with a variety of exciting techniques, including brain imaging, electrophysiology, and innovative behavioral measures (e.g., computer mouse-tracking, digital face modeling, intergroup interactions). Primary duties vary from semester to semester, but we aim to give research assistants experience in all aspects of the research process. After you have some experience, we can talk about how you can develop your own research projects or even co-author some of ours!

Credit, Compensation, and Programs

We require a two-term commitment to maintain consistency among research assistants for individual projects. If working in the lab in exchange for Independent Study credit and you only wish to obtain credit for one term, you may volunteer for the other term. Typically, we ask that you work approximately at least 10 hours per week. This can often fluctuate across the course of a term and depending on what project(s) you are involved in, but we work with students to come up with a schedule that works for everyone involved.If taking for credit, you will receive a letter grade for your work.

Previous Experience

While any academic and research experience would be an excellent asset to your application (please indicate as much), we also welcome applications from anyone interested in getting involved with psychological and brain sciences and from those who have only limited, if any, previous experience. Enthusiasm and commitment are the most valuable assets, as we conduct publishable research and expect research assistants to respect and value the process (and hopefully have fun along the way!).

Contact

Please complete the following application and send it to our lab manager at . We look forward to receiving your application, and thank you!

Name:

Email Address:

Year at Ryerson:

Major (or intended major):

Current GPA:

Please indicate why you are interested in this RA position and what you can bring to the lab:

After looking over our lab website ( what research topics excite you most? What kind of projects or techniques would you most like to be involved in? Why?

Which, if any, psychological and brain sciences courses have you taken? Do you think any would be relevant to becoming a research assistant (if yes, why)?

Please describe any previous research experience you might have (include type of project and duties)

Extra-curricular commitments (please indicate activity and approximate number of hours per week):

We do not expect you necessarily to have any special experience before coming to work in the lab (and that is partly why you are coming to work in the lab with us!). However, it’s helpful for us to gauge your experience with a variety of applications, methods, and languages we use:

If you already have experience with some of the following applications or languages, how much?

Not at all / Slightly / Moderately / Very Much
Excel
DirectRT
E-Prime
Photoshop (or equivalent)
SPSS
SAS
R
Excel Macros
BrainVoyager, SPM, or other fMRI software
Flash or Java
Python, C, or VB
HTML

Do you have experience with any other relevant applications or languages?

Do you have any experience with running fMRI or ERP subjects?

Approximately how many hours per week would you be able to work in the lab?

If you know your Monday – Friday availability yet, what hours could you work in the lab?

Monday:

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

What type of position would you like in the lab?

____Graded Credit ____Volunteer ____Fellowship