Undergraduate Research

We encourage NYU Biology majors to participate in ongoing research at the Department of Biology and NYU Medical School. Working as an undergraduate researcher provides experience in cutting edge research and technology and seeing how your textbook knowledge is applied in a real life research setting. More concretely, undergraduate research will help you develop and identify career opportunities, improve graduate and professional school applications, help gain technical skills, broaden your network, and establish critical mentorship relations with professors and other researchers in the labs. 

It is a good idea to get involved in research as early in your undergraduate career as possible. Many labs take first or second year students after taking Principles of Biology I or Molecular Cell Biology I. It is also common for juniors to join labs especially before their last summer as undergraduates. Laboratories invest into the training and success of undergraduates, and starting early gives students a chance to gain more experience while making significant contributions to the lab. It is also a good idea to start in a lab as early as possible in your time at NYU if you aim to complete an Honors Thesis or apply for a grant, such as through the Dean’s Undergraduate Research Fund. This is because many labs expect students to have worked as a research assistant in the lab for some time before pursuing these opportunities. If new to research, students can also apply for the First- and Second-Year Training (FAST) grants. Since each lab is different, you should contact individual mentors and find out more about what the lab and mentor is looking for. 

First, consider what your long term plans are, e.g. you want to do an honors thesis or want to get some summer research experience. Second, look through your schedule and decide how many hours per week you can work. Next, look through the descriptions of the research conducted by faculty at NYU Biology, NYU Medical School, and NYU Center for Neural Science. Some labs may be located away from campus and running between classes into the lab might not be possible. Read through the description of the research topics and choose 5 or 6 faculty whose work sounds interesting to you. In most labs you will work with a lab member such as a technician, graduate student or postdoctoral researcher.

The best way to apply for an undergraduate research position is to email the professor directly (unless their website has a note with instructions). Your email should include at the very least:

• Introduce yourself (e.g. I am a sophomore at NYU majoring in biology).
• Your goal (e.g. I would love to perform research as an undergrad towards an honors thesis or after taking MCB1 in Fall 2020, I became really interested in performing molecular biology research as an undergrad)
• Your interest in the lab (e.g. I have visited your website and found ??? interesting/impactful/? etc. You should tailor it to the lab you are interested in and elaborate in a couple sentences why you are interested in their research)
• If you have good grades, or you have done exceptionally well in MCB/PoB highlight this (e.g. I have obtained an A in MCBI, have a GPA of ...). If not, but you have done relevant courses/projects/other work, mention that you took those courses etc. 
• Make sure to prepare a nice academic CV and tell the professor that your CV is attached.
• In what capacity/when you want to join the lab (I would love to work as an undergraduate researcher in your lab. I can start this summer/Fall/Spring)
• Ask if there is a position available for you and indicate that you are available to meet and looking forward to hearing back.

Before and when meeting with a professor to discuss a possible research position:

• Prepare by reading the research description on the lab/professor’s web site and preferably one or two recent research papers that the lab published.  
• Dress nicely but casually and be ready to discuss why you are interested in the lab and the research.
• Be clear about your long term plans (e.g if you want to go to medical school or graduate school, or have not decided yet but want to do research because you like science and want a science career) and availability (e.g. how much time you would like to devote to research).
• Be prepared to ask questions. These could include: What will my role in the lab be? How many semesters or years do undergraduates stay in the lab?  Does the lab take on students to receive academic credit for research and/or complete honors theses? Are undergraduates in your lab expected/encouraged/allowed to write DURF applications? For more questions about funding or getting paid to do research see below. 

There are several ways to get paid to do undergraduate research.

The Dean’s Undergraduate Research Fund (DURF) accepts applications 2 times per year to support student research and conference travel. Up to $1000 can be requested for the lab to purchase research reagents and to replace student income from lost work.

The NYU Wasserman center provides an opportunity every semester for current NYU undergraduates working in an unpaid internship position to apply for a Wasserman Internship Grant.

If your professor has a research grant from the National Institutes of Health, you may apply for grants to promote diversity in health research. The deadline is typically early March. Contact your professor early February as you will need to prepare a NIH biosketch and register. Contact Prof. Sevinc Ercan if you have further questions.

If you are an NYU graduate student looking to mentor an undergraduate from underrepresented groups in STEM see the diversity undergraduate research incubator.

If you are a CAS student with a GPA of at least 3.0 you can apply for a Rudin scholarship.

For NYU students looking to gain research experience elsewhere, the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program supports students to perform research across the US. Many universities also fund their own research programs listed at Pathways to Science.

If you are a senior and belong to a group underrepresented in the biomedical research workforce, you can apply for a grant to do full time research in an NIGMS funded laboratory. You need to identify an NIGMS funded lab and contact the PI (faculty leading the lab) and coordinate as they will apply on your behalf. 

And finally, some laboratories hire undergraduates for hourly technical work. You can discuss this possibility with your professor and be employed through the Wasserman Center. 

Students can obtain 2-4 credits by registering for an Independent Study or Internship. Note that you must have been working in the lab for at least three months and apply for permission through the Application for Research credits form. 

Students with high academic standing and an interest in research can complete their project and then write and defend an undergraduate research thesis. For more information visit Honors in Biology.