Undergrad Research

Colleges and Universities A-Z Duke University
1

Hi all I just have a few questions regarding research at Duke.

1.) How easy/hard is it to get a research position at Duke? Is it super competitive? Do you need connections?

2.) When I toured Vanderbilt, they mentioned that undergrad researchers have the choice between earning credit and getting paid. Does Duke have that same opportunity (especially the getting paid part)?

3.) How demanding is it? Will it take up a lot of time outside of class or on weekends and such?

Thank you in advance!

2

I’m a current Duke student that has had Lab research experience during the semester, as well as summer program research experience.

  1. Depends. If you mean any type of research position, I'd say it's pretty darn easy. Can be as simple as asking your professor, "Do you need any help with research? Do you know of any graduate students who need help with research?" You can also ask graduate student TAs.

You can also try asking at specific labs. Labs don’t have to be under Trinity/Pratt–they can be graduate labs like Fuqua’s Behavioral Lab. Research programs, especially during the summer, can be competitive. Bass Connections is quite competitive as it involves very small research teams, but they give you a pretty nice stipend. Bass Connections also offers semester courses which are just classes anyone can enroll in and you can get research experience/contacts that way. You can also take independent study courses during the semester for your own research or apply for grants for conducting research during the summer. Honestly, the opportunities are endless and easily attainable.

  1. Everything I've done has been paid. Haven't looked into anything for credit at the moment but I do plan to take independent study courses for credit in the future.
  2. Depends on the lab. I have friends that practically have full-time jobs at their labs on top of classes, but it's not demanded of them; they're just super passionate about their lab. My lab requires a few hours a week, but these hours can often be remote (like coding data, reviewing literature, etc.)--still paid. I don't have any weekend work whatsoever (lab isn't open on weekends), unless a specific study needs to be run at a weekend event or I'm remotely working on data in my free time--all optional btw, these would be slots I signed up for, not forced upon me.

Let me know if you have any other questions!