Enjoy the perks of attending a top research university—Undergraduate Research! Learn about opportunities for research in Psychology and Cognitive Science
Explore All Labs
How Labs Recruit Research Assistants (RAs)
Most labs do not seek to hire new RAs each quarter. However, some professors report that though they are not "looking" to hire, they might make room for someone who is a good fit for their lab.
For faculty who are actively looking to hire, here are the ways that professors and researchers may go about finding applicants.
- Announcing open positions in courses they teach
- Placing ads in the newsletter from Advising
- Including "Join us" information on their lab website
- Search by lab
- Main research lab listing
♦ This list contains most labs that are run by the faculty in the Psychology Department - Search by faculty (PI)
- The Psychology Faculty List is a great way to find lab information for a particular professor, and this page allows you to filter faculty by their sub-areas of psychology. Each professor's lab website is linked below their name.
- Search by location
- Some faculty run their labs and experiments in Young Hall. For some labs, you might be working remotely, and location will not matter. Some research is exclusively conducted at other locations. Some labs are affiliated with a research center, while other labs are run by faculty outside of Psychology, such as Neurobiology and Psychiatry professors.
Center for Mind & Brain | Center for Neuroscience | MIND Institute | Primate Center - Cognitive Science labs
- ♦ The Cognitive Science Faculty list shows faculty from across campus who conduct research related to CGS
♦ Many Psychology Faculty conduct research related to cognition, perception, and neuroscience. This list is pre-sorted for these topics.
♦ Our associated facilities focus in mind/brain research: Center for Mind & Brain, Center for Neuroscience, MIND Institute, Primate Center
Centralized Research Application
The centralized research application is not currently active. Please apply directly with the labs you are interested.
Application Schedule
- Next quarter lab positions (PREFERRED): Apply by the last day of instruction in the current quarter
- Current quarter lab positions: Applications are sent to faculty at least once a quarter during finals week
- Summer: Applications are accepted for Fall lab hiring. Labs rarely hire new Research Assistants for summer positions; however, to apply for summer positions, inquire with the lab that interests you.
- The application closes for processing during finals week each quarter.
Prepare for the Application
- Choose 1–3 labs
- ♦ Utilize the "Explore All Labs" resources at the top of this page to learn more about our labs.
♦ On the application, you will identify the lab(s) that interest you by selecting the faculty member who is associated with the lab.
♦ After selecting a faculty member, you must answer: What interests you about working with this faculty member and their research team?
♦ To prepare for this question, we recommend that you review all information on the lab website, and read the abstracts of the most recent articles published by the research team. Articles/publications are often included on the lab website. - Share a CV or résumé
- ♦ The application will require you to upload your résumé to your own personal Google Drive or Box.
♦ You must copy/paste the shareable link or share link URL to share your résumé file/folder. Check that your file sharing settings allow us to access your files.
♦ The Internship & Career Center offers CV/Résumé support on their website! - Share an unofficial transcript
- ♦ The application will require you to upload a copy of your unofficial transcript to your own personal Google Drive or Box.
♦ You must copy/paste the shareable link or share link URL to share your transcript file. Check that your file sharing settings allow us to access your files.
♦ To access your UC Davis unofficial transcript, follow this path:
MyUCDavis portal > Academics tab > Student Record > Academics > Unofficial Transcript
♦ If you are a new transfer student, you may share a copy of your transcript(s) from your previous institution(s). - Undocumented students are welcome to apply
- Many labs in Psychology and Cognitive Science do not take immigration status into consideration. For further questions, feel free to email labs directly.
Earn Units for Working in a Lab
- 3 hours per week for 10 weeks (30 hours) = 1 unit of research credit (PSC 098, 099, 198, 199)
- Variable Unit Forms must be submitted to Yellow Cluster Advising by the 12th day of instruction
- For more information, visit our webpage about applying for research units
Other Research in Related Areas
Biological Sciences Communication Computer Science Human Development Linguistics
More Resources
- Undergraduate Research Center
- Interested in writing an Honors Thesis?
- Non-research internships in PSC
- Check out our Psychology Lab Tour and bonus interviews of undergrad research assistants
- Interested in being a research participant?
- Questions about completing your SONA participation?