Navigating Undergraduate Research Opportunities at UVA

The University of Virginia (UVA) offers a wealth of undergraduate research opportunities across various departments and schools. Getting involved in research can significantly enrich a student's academic experience, providing hands-on learning, valuable skills, and strong relationships with faculty. This article serves as a guide to exploring and securing these opportunities, particularly within the Computer Science (CS) department and related fields like Psychology and Cognitive Science.

Approaching Professors and Identifying Opportunities

Undergraduate students in UVA's Computer Science department often express a strong interest in participating in research during their academic journey. A crucial first step is to proactively engage with professors. Students should not hesitate to approach professors during their office hours to inquire about their research. Professors are generally enthusiastic about discussing their work.

The Computer Science department is actively working to improve the accessibility of research project listings. While efforts are underway to correct any existing issues, project listings can typically be found online. Beyond the CS department, opportunities exist in other departments such as Psychology, providing diverse avenues for research involvement.

Gaining Academic Credit for Research

UVA offers several pathways for students to receive academic credit for their research contributions. These include independent study courses and capstone projects.

Independent Study Courses

Independent Study courses provide a flexible framework for students to engage in research under faculty supervision. These courses are tailored to individual student needs and interests, covering topics not typically offered in standard coursework. They can encompass instruction in specialized areas, supervised research projects, or the creation of significant artifacts.

CS 2993: This course is designed for students with limited prerequisites and focuses on less advanced material compared to typical computing electives. It can be used for unrestricted elective credits or to replace missing credits from other 2000-level CS courses due to transfer.

CS 4993: This course is intended for students with a more advanced background, comparable to that of a typical computing elective. Up to three credits of CS 4993 can be counted as CS elective credits for BSCS, BACS, and CPE students. Any credits beyond three will count as unrestricted elective credits.

For both CS 2993 and CS 4993, it is essential for instructors and students to establish clear expectations in writing early in the term, ideally a week before the drop deadline. The final grade should be based on these agreed-upon expectations.

CS Capstone Research

Research or independent study conducted as part of the BSCS Capstone should be registered under the CS 4980 course number, rather than CS 4993. While functionally similar, CS 4980 mandates the completion of a technical paper for the SEAS Senior Thesis Portfolio, a requirement not present in CS 4993. If a student uses CS 4993 for their capstone, they must also enroll in CS 4991 for their paper to be considered for the portfolio.

Research in Other Departments

Students can receive CS credit for research conducted in other departments, such as Mechanical Engineering, provided certain conditions are met. A CS faculty member must co-advise the project in order to offer CS credit. This arrangement requires that the research has sufficient CS content to be considered an upper-level CS elective.

Read also: Undergraduate Research at CU

The determination of sufficient CS content hinges on the background knowledge required for the research. If the research applies concepts from courses like CS 3140 or CS 3100, it is likely appropriate. However, tasks such as simply building a webpage may not qualify. In cases of doubt, students should consult their program director or faculty advisor. The CS faculty member typically "signs off" that there is sufficient work that the research can count for CS credit.

Psychology Research Labs Across UVA Grounds

Working in a Psychology-related research lab on Grounds provides valuable experience, regardless of career aspirations. Research Assistant positions for undergraduates are available through a selective application process in various departments, including the Department of Psychology, the School of Education, the Darden School, and the Medical School. As a Research Assistant, students acquire skills such as operating technical equipment, interacting with study participants, coding and analyzing data, and designing experiments. RA experience is strongly recommended for those considering a Distinguished Major Project.

Earning Academic Credits (PSYC 3590)

Students accepted into an RA position can earn 2 or 3 credits through PSYC-3590 (2 credits generally correspond to 7 hours of RA work per week, 3 credits corresponds to 10 hours).

Steps to earning academic credit (PSYC-3590) for an RA:

Contact Labs of Interest: Contact labs that interest you and inquire about their application process. A basic email template to follow: Keep the inquiry short and address the Professor by their title. Introduce yourself (year and major) and mention any relevant experience and/or interest in the laboratory’s field of study. Explain that you would like to join the lab as an RA and state the length of time you’re willing to commit (at least two semesters is a common expectation). Offer your CV or resume for consideration. If no response is received after three attempts, consider another lab.
SIS Permission List: Once accepted, add yourself to the SIS permission list for PSYC-3590 under the section for the lab professor. If the supervising member is not faculty or affiliated faculty in the Department of Psychology, request permission from Prof. Chris Mazurek (for PSYC-BA majors) or Prof. Mazurek’s or Prof. Erisir’s PSYC 3590 section.

Read also: Comprehensive Internship Guide
Enrollment Permission: The Lab Coordinator or Professor will then grant permission to enroll.

PSYC 3590 will only count for up to 3 credits of Advanced Elective hours for the PSYC-BA but will not satisfy any major requirements for the PSYC-BSBN or for the PSYC minor.

Additional Resources

Psych Research List: This resource provides information on paid internships, virtual graduate school information sessions, and resources for applying to and succeeding in graduate school.
Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR): OUR encourages, promotes, and supports undergraduate student research by offering programs and funding. Services include personal consultations, informational sessions, workshops, forums for presentations, a database of research opportunities, and administration of research grants.

Specific Research Labs and Projects

Several research labs at UVA offer diverse opportunities for undergraduate involvement. These include:

Center for Behavioral Health and Technology (CBHT)

Directed by Lee Ritterband, CBHT focuses on clinical and health psychology, engineering, nursing, and public health. Projects span topics such as Insomnia, Addiction Treatment, HIV Care Engagement, Cancer Survivorship, Mood and Anxiety, and Global Health.

eHealth Projects: These include interventions for insomnia, skin cancer prevention projects, and a game to reduce asthma attacks in children.
mHealth Projects: These include studies of mobile apps to reduce binge drinking among college students, reduce depression and anxiety among breast cancer survivors, increase smoking cessation, support HIV prevention medication adherence, and improve HIV clinical outcomes.

RA responsibilities involve pilot testing interventions, participating in study team meetings, attending seminars, conducting literature searches, helping with manuscript preparation, organizing and coding data. The center prefers to recruit 2nd and 3rd year students, but will consider excellent 4th year students with a strong interest in the eHealth/mHealth field. RA positions require 10 hours per week during the academic semester, attending a weekly student meeting, and a minimum 2 semester commitment. Interested students can often work with faculty to analyze and present data through posters, conference presentations, or manuscripts. Summer hours may be available (and sometimes for a paid position).

Program for Anxiety, Cognition, and Treatment

Led by Bethany Teachman, this lab studies cognitive processes that influence the development and maintenance of psychopathology, particularly anxiety and mood disorders. Current projects focus on tracking and changing mood and cognitive biases using technology to improve emotion regulation. RAs assist with study design, recruiting and running subjects, and attending weekly lab meetings.

Promoting Healthy Adolescent Development (PHAD) Lab

Headed by Noelle Hurd, this lab studies factors that contribute to the healthy development of adolescents and emerging adults, including the promotion of mental health, the prevention of health-risk behaviors, and the protective influence of social relationships. The lab is also interested in bystander interventions for online harassment. Responsibilities for undergraduate researchers may include managing study materials, data management, conducting reviews of empirical articles, interacting with participants, and creative problem-solving.

Relationships, Ecologies, and Activities for Developing Youth (READY) Lab

Directed by Nancy L. Deutsch and Valerie A. Futch, this lab focuses on how settings and interactions can be optimized to best meet adolescents’ developmental needs. The lab is particularly interested in the role of relationships and activities in adolescent development, with a focus on out-of-school contexts. RA tasks include data entry and cleaning, qualitative coding of interview data, literature reviews, and assisting in conceptualizing and writing conference and journal papers.

Sexual Orientation, Human Development, and Family Lives Lab

Led by Charlotte J. Patterson, this lab focuses on issues related to sexual orientation, human development, and family lives. Research areas include the influence of sexual orientation on family formation and family lives, as well as the sexual and reproductive health needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals. Research assistants' duties may include reading original research studies, preparing materials for new studies, recruiting participants, transcribing and coding data, and assisting in data analysis.

Virginia Alcohol and Trauma (VAT) Laboratory

Directed by Erin Berenz, the VAT Laboratory conducts interdisciplinary research on the etiology and maintenance of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorders in adolescents and young adults. Primary duties include participant recruitment, participant screening, data entry, administrative tasks, literature reviews, and participation in weekly lab meetings.

Virginia Institute of Development in Adulthood (VIDA)

Led by Joseph Allen, the VIDA Project is a longitudinal study examining the influence of peer relationships, autonomy, and attachment processes on long-term psychosocial development and mental and physical health outcomes. Tasks include conducting interviews with participants, data entry and checking, transcribing, and other administrative tasks.

Auditory Neuroethology Lab

Directed by Daniel Meliza, this lab is interested in neural mechanisms of pattern recognition in the auditory system. Research assistant responsibilities include care and husbandry of animals, design and implementation of experiments, and data analysis.

Williams’ Lab

The Williams’ Lab is involved in a collaborative effort to train African Giant Pouched Rats and standard laboratory rodents to detect target scents associated with explosive odorants using automated methods. The lab designs, updates, provides quantitative analysis and implements the behavioral components of this research.

Cognitive Science Research Opportunities

Because Cognitive Science is an interdisciplinary major, the research opportunities for our majors span multiple schools and departments. Students participating in research labs or projects, report that it enriches and enhances their academic experience at UVA.

UVA Undergraduate Student Opportunities in Academic Research (USOAR)

The UVA Undergraduate Student Opportunities in Academic Research (USOAR) program targets rising first-year, second-year, and transfer undergraduate students who qualify for Federal Work Study and do not have previous significant experience in research. USOAR introduces students to the enriching experiences surrounding research and provides them with the chance to build strong relationships with faculty through a paid research position. Students will spend 5-10 hours per week working with their faculty supervisor in research-related tasks or projects during the fall and spring semesters.

Summer Research Internship Program (SRIP)

One Summer Program that several COGS majors have participated in is SRIP (Summer Research Internship Program) in UVA School of Medicine.

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