Many psychology majors participate in research projects with faculty. To get started, think about what interests you in psychology. Then, find out what psychology areas faculty members are interested in researching; look at the descriptions on faculty members’ web pages or come talk with us during office hours. Some of the ways students get involved in research with St. Olaf faculty include:
- Research Assistants: Many faculty have active research programs in which students can serve as research assistants. In some cases, students volunteer their time to participate in the lab. There are also for-credit options, such as the Psych 297 Research Experience. Psych 297 is time based, and can be taken for .25 (3 hours of work per week expected), .5 (6 hours of work per week expected) or 1 credit options (9 hours of work per week expected). This course is open to ALL, runs as a P/N, and requires only completion of Psych 125 and one additional Psychology course, can be repeated, but does not count towards the major. In other instances, paid research assistant positions may be available. Please discuss research options with department faculty to see how you may get involved.
- Research Experience (Psych 297: 0.25, 0.5, 1.0 credit)/Independent Study (Psych 298)/Independent Research (Psych 398): These individual courses are arranged by talking directly with a faculty member and together deciding on a plan for your work together.
- Psych 396: Directed Research: This is a course listed in the Class and Lab. For any given semester there may be one or more faculty who are offering a section of Psych 396. Typically this course will enroll a small group of students who will work together with the faculty member on research. If you are interested, check the Class and Lab to see who is offering Psych 396 and then go and talk with that professor.
- Summer Research: Various faculty do research with students over the summer. Sometimes this is a paid position, summer research experience program (CURI or McNair Scholars program), sometimes it is a volunteer position, and other times students have registered for it as a course.
- Endowment Fund
Thanks to the generosity of psychology faculty, alums and families, there is an Endowment Fund of over $71,000 that is used to support the research of junior and senior psychology majors. Each year, those needing research support fill out grant request forms to receive support from the approximately $4,200 a year the Endowment Fund supplies.