We post details about our lab’s open positions on the UBC Psychology department’s Student Research Assistantship Opportunities page here. (If no open positions for our lab are posted there, it means that we are not currently accepting applications for new volunteer RAs. However, we encourage you to check back in the future. We often recruit new RAs a few weeks before the start of academic terms.)
Volunteering as an RA is a great way to get hands-on experience with research. We often invite our most outstanding RAs to continue in the lab with longer-term directed studies projects, and occasionally in paid roles. Experience in a research lab can be especially important for students who are considering graduate school.
Typical volunteer RA responsibilities include
(L-R) Yeeun, Rachel, Cassidy, Isaaca, and Cynthia at a team meeting.
- preparing study materials
- recruiting, prescreening, and scheduling participants
- overseeing participant lab visits
- debriefing participants about the purpose of research studies
- data management and data coding
- experienced RAs are also sometimes asked to help analyze data and present results at our lab meetings, poster sessions, and conferences.
Successful applicants for RA positions usually
- are registered UBC students
- have taken PSYC101, 102, and 217, or equivalent courses
- have maintained a B+ (or above) average in their courses over the past year
- can contribute 6-8 hours per week of lab work for at least 9 months
We evaluate applications holistically and thus occasionally make exceptions for individuals who do not fit the profile described above. Working in our lab involves a lot of teamwork and requires good communication skills, high conscientiousness, and flexibility. If this sounds like you, we would love to hear from you.
We strive for a lab that reflects the larger community that we serve. We believe that diverse representation in gender, ethnicity, cultural background, sexual orientation, age, physical capabilities, and perspectives, makes our lab stronger. We are committed to creating an inclusive and supportive environment for all of our lab members.
If you are interested in Directed Studies, please click here for more information.
(L-R) Emma, Katie, Hanne, Frances, Iris, and Ping at PURC.