You can participate in undergraduate research as a volunteer at any point in your undergraduate career. You simply need to find a willing mentor.

You can participate in undergraduate research for PSYC 395 or NSCI 395 course credit if you

• Find a willing mentor
• Are a PSYC/ NSCI major
• Maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher
• Meet the pre-requisites
  • For PSYC 395: PSYC 101 and two additional PSYC courses at the 200-level or above
  • For NSCI 395: NSCI 175 and two additional STEM courses, one of which must be at the 200-level or above

Note: The requirement for NSCI 395 is to complete 2 additional STEM courses one of which must be at the 200 level or above (NSCI, CHEM, BIOL, PHYSICS, etc.)

Please note that you may also participate in the Honors Program in Psychology and Neuroscience, if eligible, for additional research opportunities and benefits.

Expect your search for a research position in a faculty laboratory to be a very time-consuming process. Make sure to start your search 2 to 3 months before the start of the target semester. You can find a mentor by:

• Searching the UNC Office for Undergraduate Research’s Database of Research Opportunities
• Identifying mentors in the Department:
  • By faculty research interests
  • By graduate student research interests
• Identifying faculty mentors outside the Department
  • Faculty members in other departments may only be a PSYC 395 or NSCI 395 mentor if they conduct psychological/neuroscience research and they collaborate with a faculty member within the Department.
• Checking bulletin boards and reviewing fliers in Davie Hall

Once you have identified a potential mentor, send them a professional email containing your resume, available hours, relevant skills and experience, and a short written essay about why you would like to work in their lab. We recommend you contact several potential mentors to increase your chances of finding a research opportunity.

Requirements are based on a 3-credit course and include:

• Identifying a faculty mentor
• Lab work within the faculty mentor’s lab
  • Approximately 9 hours per week in the Fall or Spring
• At least 10 pages of scholarly work
• At least four meetings per semester with your faculty advisor
• Weekly meetings with direct supervisor

Please Note: The application process for PSYC/NSCI 395 is changing beginning Fall 2023.

We will no longer be using the OLCM application site. To apply for PSYC/NSCI 395, you will need to make a copy of and fill out this Google document. Please be sure to read the requirements laid out in the document carefully. All yellow sections require you or your Instructor to enter information, initial or sign (electronic signatures are fine) so be sure your document is complete before uploading it in the Qualtrics form linked at the top of the document. This form will serve as both the contract and syllabus, so it is the only document you will need to submit.

The priority deadline is 4 weeks before the first day of classes (July 24th, 2023). Please try to turn in your contract as early as possible and respond to emails for updates as quickly as possible. As long as any requested updates are submitted and final approval is granted in a timely manner, submitting by the priority deadline will allow you to be enrolled by the first day of classes.

The final deadline to submit this contract is the first day of classes (August 21st, 2023). As long as any necessary updates are submitted and final approval is granted in a timely manner, submitting by the final deadline will allow you to be enrolled by the registrar’s add deadline.

Please note that students are only able to enroll in and receive credit for a maximum 6 hours of NSCI 395 or 6 hours of PSYC 395. Only 3 hours of PSYC 395 or NSCI 395 will count toward major requirements.

Participating in research with a faculty member is a great start, but you can share your research and explore more avenues to prepare yourself for a career in psychology:

• Complete a Senior Honors Thesis
• Find a conference to present a poster of your research
  • Find opportunities via the Office of Undergraduate Research. Some include the Carolina Research Scholar Program, the Celebration of Undergraduate Research, the Atlantic Coast Conference Undergraduate Research Symposium, and the State of North Carolina Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium.
• Publish your research in a journal
  • There are many undergraduate-focused journals! Check out some of our recent undergraduate research publications.
• Seek funding for your research
  • Visit the Carolina Internal Funding Database. Some opportunities include the OUR Undergraduate Travel Grant (up to $500), CV Starr Scholarships (up to $3125), Travel Fellowships (up to $4000), and the Burch Fellows Program (up to $6000).

Ask your mentor how to find these opportunities, check out the Office of Undergraduate Research, or search undergraduate funding opportunities through the OUR Database or the Carolina Internal Funding Database.

Psychology and Neuroscience faculty who are tenure, tenure-track, or on the fixed-term teaching track are eligible to be independent PSYC 395 or NSCI 395 mentors. On the application, faculty in this position can be both a faculty sponsor and direct supervisor.

Faculty who do not have tenure or graduate students who wish to serve as a PSYC 395 or NSCI 395 mentor must find a Psychology and Neuroscience faculty sponsor (i.e. a tenured, tenure-track, or fixed-term teaching track faculty mentor). Faculty in this position may eventually be eligible to serve as their own faculty sponsors, once they have mentored seven or more students, consistently followed PSYC/NSCI 395 policies, and the research involved is relevant.

Please note if you are a new supervisor, or have not served as an Instructor of Record for two consecutive semesters, you must fill out the Supervisor Orientation Form.

Here are a few ways to advertise:

• Post a flier to a first-floor bulletin board
• Post the position on the Office for Undergraduate Research Website
  • To delete the position, email our@unc.edu.
• Contact the Department’s Executive Assistant to feature in a newsletter or on social media

Many faculty advertise in the middle of the semester for a student to work in the upcoming semester.

If you are a new supervisor, you must submit the Supervisor Orientation Form.

We recommend:

• You carefully screen and interview applicants for your position.
• Students should work in the lab for longer periods of time (i.e. come in once a week for three hours, rather than three times a week for an hour). This allows students more time to re-orient.
• Give weekly detailed instructions to the student. Plan ahead of time what you want the student to get out of the experience. The sooner the student understands the background and process, the sooner they feel a part of the project.
• Monitor student activities weekly.
• Incorporate a variety of laboratory activities.
• Make PSYC/NSCI 395 a rewarding experience. Incorporate students into the lab – allow ownership of a project!

A faculty member may supervise up to five students per semester.

• Students should have final papers completed and turned in by the last day of classes. Students should also upload a copy of the final paper in Sakai.
• Grades must be submitted in ConnectCarolina within 72 hours of the first scheduled final exam.