<p>I'm applying for Electrical Engineering and I was wondering how easy/hard it is to get a research opportunity during the freshman year.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Is it possible to get a research position at all during freshman year?</p></li>
<li><p>Is it simply a matter of approaching/emailing professor X about his research project that you would be interested in?</p></li>
<li><p>If getting a research position is possible freshman year, is any extensive prior knowledge required? (I don't think incoming freshmen would know that much haha)
if yes, then how do you get this knowledge??? self study? or courses?</p></li>
<li><p>If getting a research position is not possible (or very likely) in freshmen year, what year can a student stand a reasonable chance of getting one?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I can’t specifically address the Electrical Engineering department, but I attended an Open House for Materials Science/Engineering with my son recently and the faculty, students and staff were all very much interested in undergraduate students participating in research. Questions about double majors, minors, and combined BS/MS programs were answered from the other parents in attendance, and the answer was uniformly “Yes, you can do that here, but we really think it in your best interest to look into research opportunities as a better use of your time and money.”</p>
<p>That being said, you should contact the Electrical Engineering department and ask them about their opportunities for freshmen to do some kind of research. The MatSe dept said it was as simple as just talking to a professor and asking. I would assume that the EE dept would work in a similar manner.</p>
<p>I can’t specifically address the Electrical Engineering department, but I attended an Open House for Materials Science/Engineering with my son recently and the faculty, students and staff were all very much interested in undergraduate students participating in research. Questions about double majors, minors, and combined BS/MS programs were answered, and the answer was uniformly “Yes, you can do that here, but we really think it in your best interest to look into research opportunities as a better use of your time and money.”</p>
<p>That being said, you should contact the Electrical Engineering department and ask them about their opportunities for freshmen to do some kind of research. The MatSe dept said it was as simple as just talking to a professor and asking. I would assume that the EE dept would work in a similar manner.</p>