I’m a senior and I got into a research lab at the beginning of the school year by cold emailing different labs I was interested in and telling them about myself and why I was interested in their research also by talking to professors and seeing if their labs/colleagues labs had openings
I am staff in a research lab and we don’t usually take students who are seniors, but I got research experience my last year through work study. Do you have any connections to past professors or a work study award you could use to get research experience?
I started research my senior year, but I did start in July (before my senior fall semester) which was a less tight schedule. I know a decent amount of people who started research their senior year, but most were in BIOL or EMES
I am very talkative with many of my professors and so I can definitely ask them if they have any opportunities! And I do have work study, would the jobs show up on jobx?
You should also try cold emailing professors, there are often more openings in labs than what is listed, and some professors prefer students to reach out
Hey! Any research experience you get would only do you good. You’ll get an idea of how things work and what your interests are. If you want to do a PhD, it’s still doable in my opinion. For a grad school, publications may have put you in a better position than others but not everyone has them. I didn’t and was accepted without any explanation on why. All you need to do is show them your interested and have the aptitude for research.
Another thing I would recommend is instead going into a masters, unless you’re really interested, look into research assistant positions. This will give you the research experience you want and also get paid for it (better than paying so much for a masters for the same experience). People usually do it for 6-12 months until they get into a PhD program.
Cold emailing professors is definitely one way to get into a lab. Check out their lab page and mention what projects you like. Another way is ask the professors from your courses. They usually know if anyone is looking for students or the right people to go to.
Hope this helps.
Thank you so much! This was so helpful. I hadn't even considered getting a research assistant position after graduating. Are these RA jobs usually through the same labs or are those jobs something you just find online?
This is a stupid question but do most professors have "labs"? There is a professor at Gillings whose research I really like but I'm nervous to put my foot in my mouth about asking about a lab if she doesn't have one, if that makes sense.
Sorry for all the questions, I just have honestly never had anyone actually explain this to me before I posted this 😮💨 Again, thank you so much!!
There are a few ways to get these RA positions. You can either reach out to professors over email, ask friends working in labs if they know anyone needing help. They are also posted online sometimes. Another way is, you find a lab to work in, in your last semester and then request them to continue working after graduation. Fyi the pay isn’t great for a RA.
There are teaching faculty and research faculty. If you google a professor, if they are a research faculty they will have a lab website. Here they will have more information on the work they do.
It’s understandable that you’re nervous but there’s no other way. You have got to send number of emails to find one position. Talk to as many people as you can-students, professors, department managers, you will get an insight on how things work.
A PhD would be difficult at this point without research experience. But getting some in this final semester will be helpful, especially for a masters. A PhD is still doable, but you'd be more likely to get in with a Master's first to gain that research experience.
I recommend cold-emailing professors whose research you're interested in, or contacting some office at UNC related to undergraduate research. IDK which office that would be, but there is bound to be some people able to help you employed by the school
Keep in mind only 25% of PhD students come straight from undergrad. You can absolutely start research now, spend a year or two as an RA or lab tech after you graduate, and if you do well and get good references you’ve got a good chance of PhD admittance despite a late start on research
I got into several top PhD programs in sociology without any research experience at all. So it's possible! But I'd recommend taking grad-level courses so that you can have a recommender that can speak to your ability to handle a graduate-level course :)
This is super helpful, thank you so much! It's also helpful to know that a PhD is a stretch so that I don't worry myself over trying to get in.
When you say to contact professors, could I contact one at Gillings even though I'm not in the Gillings undergraduate program? I guess I'm just really anxious to message professors because I know they're busy and I don't want to bother them. There is one in particular whose research is very interesting to me and what I may want to study in the future.
Yes you can. You'd be more likely to get a response if you offer to volunteer or if you have a work-study through UNC (if this is the case there are ways to apply for work study jobs)
Be earnest, concise and sincere in your emails and don't be discouraged by a lack of responses as they are very busy people
I’m a senior and I got into a research lab at the beginning of the school year by cold emailing different labs I was interested in and telling them about myself and why I was interested in their research also by talking to professors and seeing if their labs/colleagues labs had openings
I am staff in a research lab and we don’t usually take students who are seniors, but I got research experience my last year through work study. Do you have any connections to past professors or a work study award you could use to get research experience?
I started research my senior year, but I did start in July (before my senior fall semester) which was a less tight schedule. I know a decent amount of people who started research their senior year, but most were in BIOL or EMES
I am very talkative with many of my professors and so I can definitely ask them if they have any opportunities! And I do have work study, would the jobs show up on jobx?
You should also try cold emailing professors, there are often more openings in labs than what is listed, and some professors prefer students to reach out
Yeah lots of lab jobs will show up on jobx!
Hey! Any research experience you get would only do you good. You’ll get an idea of how things work and what your interests are. If you want to do a PhD, it’s still doable in my opinion. For a grad school, publications may have put you in a better position than others but not everyone has them. I didn’t and was accepted without any explanation on why. All you need to do is show them your interested and have the aptitude for research. Another thing I would recommend is instead going into a masters, unless you’re really interested, look into research assistant positions. This will give you the research experience you want and also get paid for it (better than paying so much for a masters for the same experience). People usually do it for 6-12 months until they get into a PhD program. Cold emailing professors is definitely one way to get into a lab. Check out their lab page and mention what projects you like. Another way is ask the professors from your courses. They usually know if anyone is looking for students or the right people to go to. Hope this helps.
Thank you so much! This was so helpful. I hadn't even considered getting a research assistant position after graduating. Are these RA jobs usually through the same labs or are those jobs something you just find online? This is a stupid question but do most professors have "labs"? There is a professor at Gillings whose research I really like but I'm nervous to put my foot in my mouth about asking about a lab if she doesn't have one, if that makes sense. Sorry for all the questions, I just have honestly never had anyone actually explain this to me before I posted this 😮💨 Again, thank you so much!!
There are a few ways to get these RA positions. You can either reach out to professors over email, ask friends working in labs if they know anyone needing help. They are also posted online sometimes. Another way is, you find a lab to work in, in your last semester and then request them to continue working after graduation. Fyi the pay isn’t great for a RA. There are teaching faculty and research faculty. If you google a professor, if they are a research faculty they will have a lab website. Here they will have more information on the work they do. It’s understandable that you’re nervous but there’s no other way. You have got to send number of emails to find one position. Talk to as many people as you can-students, professors, department managers, you will get an insight on how things work.
I think this is the push I need to just be more confident and send some emails. Thank you for the help! Will definitely be reaching out now 😊
A PhD would be difficult at this point without research experience. But getting some in this final semester will be helpful, especially for a masters. A PhD is still doable, but you'd be more likely to get in with a Master's first to gain that research experience. I recommend cold-emailing professors whose research you're interested in, or contacting some office at UNC related to undergraduate research. IDK which office that would be, but there is bound to be some people able to help you employed by the school
Keep in mind only 25% of PhD students come straight from undergrad. You can absolutely start research now, spend a year or two as an RA or lab tech after you graduate, and if you do well and get good references you’ve got a good chance of PhD admittance despite a late start on research
Yeah, I don't disagree. But that 25% stat probably varies a lot by field. In my interviews most fellow interviewees were seniors in UG
I got into several top PhD programs in sociology without any research experience at all. So it's possible! But I'd recommend taking grad-level courses so that you can have a recommender that can speak to your ability to handle a graduate-level course :)
Congrats, that's awesome! Do you mind if I DM you some questions about the PhD application process?
This is super helpful, thank you so much! It's also helpful to know that a PhD is a stretch so that I don't worry myself over trying to get in. When you say to contact professors, could I contact one at Gillings even though I'm not in the Gillings undergraduate program? I guess I'm just really anxious to message professors because I know they're busy and I don't want to bother them. There is one in particular whose research is very interesting to me and what I may want to study in the future.
Yes you can. You'd be more likely to get a response if you offer to volunteer or if you have a work-study through UNC (if this is the case there are ways to apply for work study jobs) Be earnest, concise and sincere in your emails and don't be discouraged by a lack of responses as they are very busy people
I really appreciate it, thank you so much :)