How to Find Research Experience

Bioengineering is an interdisciplinary field and we encourage students to consider working with faculty doing bioe-related research in other departments.

Summary:

• Know what time you can commit
• Learn what the lab does
• Have a resume
• Email them
• Go to office hours if possible
• Accept that rejection isn’t about you

General note - you want them to respond to your email. Make sure you respond to their ASAP!

How much time and energy do you have available for research?

• Joining a lab is a commitment to the PI, the other lab members, and the project.
• Don’t commit to more than you can deliver. 4 to 8 hours per week is normal.
• Ideally you will be excited and engaged in what you’re doing and will WANT to find time.
• Write down some days/times you’ll be available for the lab.

Make a list (a spreadsheet!) of interesting faculty labs, their email, the lab url, and what interests you.

• Look outside your concentration and outside BioE faculty: Engineering, Chemistry, Biology, etc.
• Check out faculty lab websites, BioE and campus news stories, and talk to people.
• Department faculty lists have links to their labs. Check out the PhD program faculty.
• No matter how advanced the research sounds, there can be a role for you.
• Figure out what they do and what about it interests you.

Make your resume

• The goal - demonstrate your reliability and skills, in and out of academia.
• See a sample resume

Email the faculty member

• Keep the email SHORT and to the point. Don’t summarize your resume.
• Show them that you know what their lab does, “I have read summaries of your research into power converter optimization in R2 droid units and am very interested in your work.”
• Express interest in their known projects but stay open to new ones they haven't published yet.

Email them again in 1-2 weeks (they get an insane amount of email)

• Drop by their office hours to introduce yourself and talk about it.
• Be respectful of their time and their students - if they're busy, just introduce yourself, say you emailed them and will do so again.
• Accept that the answer may be No, and it's not personal.
• Contact a few labs at the same time. Since the process may take a few weeks, put several inquiries out at once. But don’t contact ALL The Labs, pick 3-6.

These programs recruit faculty who are accepting undergraduates in their labs and may assist with the application and management process. They may or may not provide funding or other program features. Not all faculty participate in these programs, many receive plenty of students through the lab-finding process above.

Berkeley Discovery Opportunities Database

Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarships

URAP

Engineering Beehive

Research positions in labs are a valuable resource. We strongly suggest:

• Do fully commit to the lab.
  Attend lab meetings, think about the problems, talk to lab members and engage in the work. You may start out just following directions, but your role should grow over time.
• Don't join a lab if you're not going to commit. Lab members are devoting time to you, pay back their investment.
• Do spend some time. It takes time to learn how a lab works and form relationships with the members. Long term lab membership shows your commitment to challenging problems.
• Don't change labs every semester or year.
  It's ok to change labs if it's not a good fit or your interests have changed, just don't hop around.
• Do focus on one lab. You'll have commitments and projects elsewhere, but stick with one faculty lab at a time. You'll learn more, accomplish more, and build better relationships.
• Don't work in more than one lab at a time. Multiple concurrent labs on your resume looks more scattered than impressive. And you're taking up space that could be used by someone ready to fully commit.
• Do be honest with your mentors. Let them know your other time commitments.
• Don't promise more than you can deliver. It's better to reduce your scheduled time than to flake out.
• Don't worry if this lab isn't Exactly what you want to do with your life. Keep an open mind and learn how to be a scientist and engineer.
• Do know that all lab experience is valuable and transferrable. Lab experience teaches how research works. Choosing problems, asking the right questions, designing and approach, troubleshooting, handling setbacks, managing and analyzing your data - these are valuable skills that transfer from computational sciences to wet labs to robotics and beyond.

Getting Paid During the School Year

Undergraduates are usually not paid for their part-time research in a faculty laboratory, with occasional exceptions for long-term lab members. Research pay comes out of the faculty mentor's research grants, which are earmarked for certain projects only.

We understand that many students need to work for pay during the school year, which makes it very difficult to find time to volunteer in a lab as well. We suggest that students try to find a lab where they can begin with a small time commitment and search for grants, scholarships and project funding as they become established. Talk to your PI about your situation and needs.

Getting Paid During the Summer

Formal summer research apprenticeships, such as REUs and internships, almost always pay students a wage, stipend or living expenses, and sometimes include housing or travel expenses. We encourage all students to apply to many programs.

For students who wish to stay at Berkeley during the summer and continue work in their faculty laboratory, we recommend talking to their faculty member early in the spring to see if funding may be available, and looking into campus programs.