Many first-year students arrive at Pitt eager to take advantage of all the research opportunities available on campus and in the Pittsburgh area... but many just don’t know where to begin finding these opportunities. This month, we’re taking advice from Pitt STEM faculty on the various ways students can seek out getting involved in research. Even better news? Much of their advice is applicable to students in all fields of study, not just STEM majors.
Review faculty profiles on department websites.
Each academic department has a webpage with all of their faculty and their contact information. Most departments will also include the educational background of each faculty member, their current research interests, and links to recent publication activity. This is a great way to evaluate if you have an interest in the research they do and can then email them to convey your strong interest in their work.
Tailor your email messages to increase the likelihood of a response!
If your emails to faculty sound mostly like, “Hi, I am a sophomore majoring in Chemistry and would love to work in your lab. Do you have any openings?”, then it is probably getting deleted without a response.
Get more specific! Tell them exactly what it is about their current research projects or a recent publication you found interesting. Connect the research they are doing to your own goals: Are you considering graduate study in the future? Is there a particular topic you learned a little about in class but want to do a “deeper dive” into through research experience? Make sure you convey your enthusiasm!
Take your search beyond Pitt.
The Pittsburgh metro area is rich in research opportunity! Do you know that museums conduct research on all kinds of topics, including scientific research (check out our neighbor, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History!)? There are nearly 30 colleges in Pittsburgh with varying degrees of research activities open to students from any college. Same goes for teaching and research-intensive hospitals. Private companies often hire “interns” that carry out research through their R&D (Research and Development) arms of the company. Even local non-profits need college interns for their grant-writing, data collection, and analysis processes. Check out the hiring and Human Resources webpages for job postings with organizations that appeal to you.
Utilize your growing network.
Everyone you meet during your Pitt journey is a part of your growing professional network: professors, student organization leaders, advisors, lab mates, that guest lecturer from last week’s Anthropology course. Connect with them using LinkedIn or send them an email of appreciation for their talk, assistance, or just to tell them how excited you were to get the chance to meet them. The more people who know your goals and interests, the more people who can recommend opportunities that come up within their own networks for you. Maintaining a professional network takes some investment of your time, but you’re sure to have more advocates looking out for you and connecting you to opportunities that might not come through more official channels.
Apply for a summer research opportunity via a national scholarship.
Did you know that there are loads of programs out there that specifically fund research opportunities in the summer? The Gilman Scholarship, DAAD-RISE, an NSF-REU, NOAA Hollings, and plenty more include active research, professional development seminars, and funding to show off your summer research at conferences. Be sure to RSVP to the upcoming ONS workshop, Summer Opportunities: General National Scholarships Info Session, taking place virtually on Tuesday, November 11 from 5 to 6 p.m.. Register here.