<p>I am a current freshmen at UCLA and I want to know what I need to write on the CV and the cover letter when emailing the faculty mentor for a research opportunity. Because I am a freshmen I have a lack of experience in anything related to the research field. What can I write to convince the faculty mentor that I am an applicant that he/she should pick other than that I am hardworking and dedicated? Any help would be appreciated? Also, am I taking the right approach to trying to attain a research internship/job at UCLA? Are there any other methods that I have yet to know of? thanks in advance!</p>
<p>I would recommend on reading the research group’s website and a couple of their papers to get a feel of what they do. That way you can write or talk about why you are interested in joining the group and give some examples of what caught your attention.</p>
<p>Keep emails concise. State that you’re looking for undergraduate research, your class year, major, classes you’ve taken, and why you’re interested in the PI’s research. Also include a copy of your CV.</p>
<p>Some professors suck at replying to emails so don’t get discouraged. If they are interested they will probably ask you to set up an appointment.</p>
<p>u kidding me? this kids not gunna understand a single thing in any of those papers</p>
<p>Another method you might want to try is e-mailing professors whose class you’ve enjoyed, or professors doing interesting research, and asking them if they need research volunteers. I started doing this my freshman year in an amazing lab that probably would not have hired me for SRP or work-study due to my lack of experience. After a little bit over a quarter, I got to do SRP, and now I’m getting 4 upper-div research credits a quarter.</p>
<p>If you’re planning on being committed to the lab for at least a year or so, starting out as a volunteer might enable you to get your foot in the door for more interesting research. Since SRP is only 1-2 units anyways, getting 0 units for a quarter or so isn’t such a big deal.</p>
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<p>that’s why god created wikipedia. </p>
<p>OP doesn’t have to understand everything, but reading the papers gives the reader a good idea why they are doing the research and it’s significance. I guess you can read the abstract, intro, skim the middle section, and read the conclusion. I recommend it because when you go talk to the professors they will ask why you want to join their lab. It’s better to give examples.</p>
<p>@bruinsarerad: So would it be better if I email the professors on the SRP list saying I want to volunteer? I totally would not mind volunteering at all, I just want the experience so I can start moving up in the field of research.</p>
<p>@GrassBandit: thanks for the info.</p>
<p>ya, i mean you don’t even have to limit yourself to those professors. i just e-mailed my favorite prof (whos head of a department and runs a huge study) if she needed help. you can either e-mail the SRP list ones (maybe mention that you’d like to do srp but would definitely be willing to volunteer as well) or just ANY professor that you might want to work under.</p>
<p>Cool stuff. I’m a first-year also.</p>
<p>With regards to trying to snag a research/volunteer/lab-monkey position, would it perhaps be better to first ask the prof to take a tour of his lab and then later follow up with a request to work under him? (as opposed to just asking to work under him from the outset) I would think that this would give me a chance to make a more favorable impression.</p>
<p>By the way, my major (Civil Engr.) is a small department with only 15 professors, if that makes a difference–it makes me feel that I would sort of “have to do things right the first time”, since those 15 are the folks I’ll be encountering regularly in classes soon enough.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>