Basic Tips for Finding Research:
- Do your own research
- Take the initiative to find professors or labs whose research interests you and email them
- Many professors get a lot of emails from undergraduate students asking to join their lab, so do not be discouraged if it takes 3, 4 or 5+ emails in order to find a PI (principal investigator) who will meet with you
- Oftentimes, 3rd or 4th-year undergraduate BE students are in research labs and they may know of an opening in their lab to pass onto you
- Make sure you have a genuine interest in the research
- Join clubs (like BMES) with technical projects or workshops and learn skills that will make you a more valuable candidate to joining a research lab
- Skills for a BE lab include (but are definitely not limited to): CAD, 3D printing, machining, circuitry, coding, data analysis, cell culture, cellular staining, imaging and microscopy, and many, many more
- BMES' starter technical projects, Cell Team and Build Team, provide the perfect base for students who are wishing to join a research lab with little to no experience beforehand
- Be a good student
- You do not need a 4.0 GPA to get into a research lab (just trust me on this...), but it is important to show PIs that you care about academia in general
- Research is academia, so having a low GPA reflects poorly on you (the student) because it shows the PI that you may not be as interested in the subject as you say you are
- Of course, if you have the perfect technical background or a lot of previous research experience, a low GPA is easy to overlook, but generally speaking: people who do academic research usually want to go into higher education, and GPA matters a lot for graduate school applications
- You do not need a 4.0 GPA to get into a research lab (just trust me on this...), but it is important to show PIs that you care about academia in general
In the meantime, check out these links:
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The research positions are not specific to the Bioengineering Department, but it offers research openings for other labs from many different departments that are eligible for SRP credit.
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Most departments offer and administer a select number of upper division independent research courses. These courses are considered a “next step” in completing undergraduate research and allow students to receive upper division credit for engaging in advanced research projects under the supervision of a UCLA instructor.
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A compiled PDF with all the different professors in the School of Engineering, along with the focuses of their research labs.
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Are you a graduate student, postdoc, or PI looking for an undergraduate researcher? Contact us at [email protected] to post on the Research Position Openings Bulletin or if you have any questions!