<p>Are there undergrad research opportunities at UCD, and how difficult is it to get into them?
(for bio and related majors)</p>
<p>There are always opportunities for research at UCD. You just have to ask for it. Even if it’s not posted, professors are willing to give you research experience. Make sure you’re comfortable with that professor and are interested in their research. They may put you under one of their grad students so don’t always expect that you’ll be working directly with the prof. You also should be willing to work for free since the UCD budget is tight and professors aren’t getting many or very large grants right now. Our lab had to even let go our SRA for budget cuts.</p>
<p>In short, do some online research about your profs and decide if you’re interested in their field of work. Remember, a lot of them teach classes that aren’t directly related to their research. So pick a prof, and go up to them after class (avoid e-mails for first impressions) and directly ask them if they have any research/experience opportunities they might have open. Also express interest and knowledge of their expertise and remember you HAVE to go to their class and stay awake in their courses or it’ll be… not good, obviously.</p>
<p>Very helpful! Thanks.</p>
<p>In addition to asking your professors, maybe think about looking into these:</p>
<p>[AS</a> - MURALS Mission Statement](<a href=“Mentorships for Undergraduate Research in Agriculture, Letters and Science (MURALS) | Office of Educational Opportunity and Enrichment Services”>http://murals.ucdavis.edu/)
I’m currently in MURALS. They pay you $500 and your faculty mentor $250 per quarter, for two quarters.</p>
<p>[Undergraduate</a> Research](<a href=“Undergraduate Research Center”>http://undergraduateresearch.ucdavis.edu/)</p>