The SCIBUGS were fortunate to have Terry Chapin, an Integrative Biology Professor at UC Berkeley, come and speak about undergraduate research at one of the meetings.   The information on this page was taken from a handout that he presented to the SCIBUGS' members.

If you are interested in doing research in biology here at Berkeley, there are many opportunities, but you must take the initiative to make the appropriate contacts.   This sheet is intended to tell you how to do that.   There are several reasons why you might want to do research as an undergraduate:

1.   It is the best possible way to find out what a career in biology is like.   It lets you "try out biology" before you have to decide on a major or whether you want a career in biology in the long term.

2.   It is a good way to make personal contact with graduate students and faculty who can write letters of recomendation for you (for jobs or graduate/medical schools).

3.   IT'S FUN!

There are at least four ways in which you might get involved in research: as a work-study student, as a volunteer, as an independent study course, or as a research fellowship.

1.   Work study: If you qualify for financial aid at Berkeley, you can apply in Sproul Hall for work study.   This enables you to get paid to work in a research laboratory.   Work study jobs are advertised in Sproul, and you apply and interview for them, just as for any other job.   They generally pay better than off-campus jobs.   The main disadvantage is that your supervisor decides what work needs to be done, and you may have relatively little choice over what you do.

2.   Volunteer in a research lab: This is the best type of research opportunity, if you have no previous research experience and/or are not sure what type of research you might want to try.   It gives you the experience and contacts to prepare you to do research for course credit or to get a research fellowship.   Basically you should contact a faculty member or graduate student in some aspect of biology in which you are interested and ask them if they have any research projects in which you could help.   They get the benefit of your free labor, and in return they have the responsibility to tell you about their research project, show you how to do it and in general tell you what their research is all about.   There are at least two ways you might decide on who to talk to:

I.   Talk to grad students and ask who might be doing interesting things.
II.   Look at the booklets on faculty research interests put out by each department, and decide which faculty member is doing things of greatest interest to you.

3.   Get course credit for a research project: If you already have some experience doing research, talk to a faculty member about doing an independent research project.   This works best, if you already have some idea of what type of biology is interesting to you.   Find the appropriate faculty member just as you would as a research volunteer (see above).   Some research projects are listed in the Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program at Campbell Hall.

4.   Get a research fellowship: There are a limited number of national and campus research fellowships available during the summer and the academic year.   One such program is the Biology Fellows Program administered in room 2075 VLSB.   This provides grants to undergraduate students to support independent research.   The emphasis of the program is to increase the number of students from underrepresented ethnic groups and women in science.   However, all qualified undergraduate students are encourged to apply.

If you have any questions about how to get involved in research, please contact the SCIBUGS.   Berkeley may be a large impersonal campus at times, but there are lots of opportunities to do research and work closely with faculty and graduate students.   However, it is up to you to take the initiative.

Professor Chapin told the SCIBUGS that it is never too late in the year to try and get a position, but the sooner the better.

scibugs@ocf.berkeley.edu