<p>May I know if students at UCLA are allowed to launch their own projects (and perhaps get funding) and get help from the professors with regard to the technical aspect?</p>
<p>I believe that not many schools do that and for most research projects students will take up a project the professor is currently working on so I was just wondering if UCLA is the same because I already have a project in mind.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>In general, as an undergrad I’d expect you’re more likely to do a project related to your PI’s. When you interview at a lab, you get a feel for the projects they’re working on and how you’d fit in, but I don’t think I know anyone who’s doing a completely separate project. I don’t think it’s a UCLA thing, I think it has more to do with being an undergrad. Even grad students work on projects related to their PI’s projects.</p>
<p>Have you done research before? If not, you might want to try it out first before starting a project on your own. Look around for a lab related to the project you have in mind. It never hurts to ask.</p>
<p>my girlfriend is currently in a research program as junior. There are a handful of people in it and make up a project they would like to work on. While they don’t get funding for their there a total of 3 mentors(who are professors/experts in the field) that help them throughout the process </p>
<p>How hard is it for freshmen to do research?</p>
<p>^Not very hard. Find some groups with research you’re interested in and contact them. The faculty here is truly amazing. I can’t describe how incredible the PI’s I’ve met with have been. They really want you to learn and grow. Good luck! :)</p>
<p>@gopackgo555 Is there a link to this programme that you can refer me to? I suppose that the students can come up with any feasible project of their choice and obtain help?</p>
<p>yeah I’m honestly not too sure how she got in it or who she talked to. When i met her she was had already been in it for a bit. It’s Psych research but to my knowledge it is like you described </p>
<p>Yeah it’s actually pretty easy for freshmen to get research positions, at least in my experience. At the beginning of winter quarter, I emailed about 9-10 PIs, heard back from 8, accepted interviews at 6 and got offers from them all. I might have been a little more fortunate in getting such a positive response though since I did a related internship over the summer before college and had done well academically in fall quarter. I also think I was able to convey to the PIs my interest in the field and what I already knew about the background information. I’d say as long as you contact PIs whose work truly interests you to the point where you could talk about it easily with them in an interview, then they’ll let you into their lab, space permitting. Good luck getting into a research lab here (if you decide to come) - it’s a large university so there’s almost a guarantee that there’s a lab on campus somewhere doing something related to your interest.</p>
<p>Hi, I’m a 4th year grad physci grad and just got into the stanford MD track (only want to give some background and cred on what i’m saying - nothing else). I highly recommend joining CURE at UCLA (if ur not already in it). They offer one-on-one mentorship from senior/junior undergrads for fresh/soph.</p>
<p>Or join the UCLA biomedical research minor. Dr. Ira Clark is amazing at helping undergrads get good research experiences. </p>
<p>Though I did okay at UCLA, in hindsight I’d tell my freshman self to follow the below steps:
<ol>
<li><p>Look up which labs at UCLA that are well-known for research in that topic. Sometimes this can be the lab of the department chairman/vice-chair. Or of a “distinguished professor.” BUT most professors without chair or distinguished designations are great as well so the key is to look for a good lab. CURE at UCLA helps with this b/c you can ask around about how supportive a lab is. Having a good mentor is very very important in research. How well-known ur PI is in his/her field of study also affects the weight of ur recommendation letter when u apply to med/grad school (but this shouldn’t be ur main focus). </p></li>
<li><p>Look up papers they’ve published (search the PI’s name is Pubmed or NCBI) and read them as best as you can. This is where CURE at UCLA helps a lot. If you make it through the applications and get a senior mentor, ur mentor will help you a LOT with reading papers.</p></li>
<li><p>Prepare a CV. A senior CURE mentor can help with this.</p></li>
<li><p>Email the PI (essentially ur cover letter) detailing ur high school GPA, SAT/ACT score, research experience, technical skills in the email and attaching ur CV. From being on the other end, my PI sends lab researchers emails from students… being upfront with your strengths in the email itself makes it a lot easier for anyone reading ur email to see if the lab fits ur strengths. </p></li>
<li><p>Repeat until you get into a lab (you may need to send up to 20 emails so don’t get discouraged if u dont get into the first lab u apply to!).</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The biomedical research minor can help with the above steps as well.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t recommend just going onto the SRP listings and looking for an open position, unless you find one on a topic you are interested in. Some of my friends found their research boring b/c they took the first available position.</p>
<p>Best of luck!!!</p>