Get Involved in a Research Project
You can be involved in research at many levels. If you want to get involved in research before the formal research courses in their curricula, you can do so by volunteering, which may involved observing or participating in several data collections, participating on a regular basis as a volunteer, or for academic credit. As an undergraduate student, you have the opportunity to participate in a full-time Undergraduate Research Fellowship during the summer months.
Volunteer
You may volunteer in a faculty member’s lab before making the commitment to undertake a more formal commitment to research. Some faculty advisors require a period of volunteering before they will accept you into their research group. As a volunteer, you do not receive pay or credit, but can pick up pointers from other students, sleuth in the library, learn where equipment is kept, and learn how to use some of the computer programs, machinery, etc., while reading about the subject being investigated. Volunteer research is also an alternative if you have no need of credit and are involved in a research project that is not funded. The terms of a volunteer commitment are qualitatively the same as those for research recognized by credit or funding.
Course Credit
You can earn academic credit for your research assistance, from one to six or more credits per semester depending upon the amount of work you and the faculty mentor agree on. These course credits would be over and above the research course credits that you may earn in your curriculum and are usually in the form of an Independent Study course. When registering for an Independent Study course, you must complete an Independent/Directed Study Contract, found on the website of the . Independent study courses usually do not satisfy a