How to find a research opportunity in Biology
There are over 60 different departments on the UW-Madison campus where biological research goes on! Opportunities for undergraduates to get involved can be found in all of these departments. Furthemore, you can pursue research for course credit, as a volunteer experience and, in some cases, for pay. This vast array of possibilities may at first seem overwhelming but if you search for a research opportunity with a strategy in mind, the process of finding it can be a learning experience in itself!
Most undergraduates conduct research under the guidance of a mentor. A mentor is a person with a research program or laboratory on campus. Most mentors are faculty members, but many undergraduates work with nonfaculty mentors, such as post-docs, scientists and graduate students. The mentor provides the facility in which the student carries out the research as well as the expertise and direction for the student to get started on a research project.
Finding a Research Opportunity
- Listings of courses with a research component. Links
to listings of part-time positions in labs. Tips on volunteering to work
in a lab. How to find research in a specific area of biology and how to
decide which type of research experience is best for you
Finding a Mentor
- Tips on finding what research is out there, finding
a potential mentor and approaching a potential mentor
Biological Departments on Campus
- Links to home pages of the biological departments and
programs on campus
Funding for Undergraduate Research
on Campus - Information about and links to
grants, scholarships and internships as well as UW-Madison summer research
programs
Off-Campus Summer Research Opportunities
- Links to off-campus research programs that UW-Madison
students can pursue during the summer
Undergraduate student organizations
- Links to several student-run organizations
that discuss undergraduate research
| Student Profiles | | How to find a research opportunity | | Which type of opportunity? | | Finding a mentor |
| Biological Depts | | Courses/Programs | | Funding | | Off-campus Opportunities | | Student Organizations |
| Undergraduate Research Home | | CBE Home |
Questions or comments about this web site? Please contact Janet Branchaw,Center for Biology Education at (608) 262-1182 or email: branchaw@wisc.edu

