Getting involved in research as an undergraduate affords many benefits such as hands-on scientific training, close collaboration with faculty mentors, and the opportunity to excel academically as you apply your lab-related skills in the classroom. Most importantly it is fun to discover new things about the world. Of course, the most interesting thing in the world is to understand how and why the brain and behavior work in the way that they do!
Undergraduate research can also be selfishly-productive: working in a lab can help you decide how exactly you might want to make a career out of being a scientist (what do you do for work after college?? Graduate school, medical school?!)
Students in the lab will assist in ongoing research projects as well as have the opportunity to design their own research projects. New students are encouraged to join the lab as a volunteer for a semester. After initial research experience and if it is a good fit, your research can count towards course credit through a 395 class or sometimes as an Independent Study. Occasionally, after having worked in the lab for some time, it is possible to compensated for via funding opportunities through the lab and through PC such as through the Undergraduate Research Engaged Learning initiative and other summer research opportunities.
Enthusiastic undergraduate researchers interested in studying neuroscience and animal cognition are encouraged to contact Dr. Templer.
Several kinds of experience are helpful, but not required, if you wish to work in the lab:
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Experience training animals in any context
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Completion of Introduction to Psychology, Behavioral Neuroscience, Animal Learning & Cognition, or other courses in Psychology or Biology that pertain to cognition and neuroscience.
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Completion of the RDSA sequence
or PSY 260 -
Facility with SPSS
and/or R or other programming languages -
Experience with advanced Excel functions such as formulas, conditional sum wizard, and figures
Neuroscience & Animal Cognition 