Updated 5-2-26
The Psychology Department at Brooklyn College offers many opportunities for undergraduate students to gain research experiences with faculty mentors. Research experiences at the undergraduate level provide opportunities to develop hard skills (data-analysis, experiment design, coding, and writing) and soft skills (presentation, clear and compelling communication, simplifying complex material) that prepare students for a wide variety of careers, and especially for students looking to pursue master’s and doctoral degrees. And, it is possible for students to gain credit toward their degree in courses specifically designed for mentored research experiences.
Faculty in the psychology department conduct research on a wide variety of topics including neuroscience, clinical psychology, cognition, developmental processes, social psychology, and others. It is possible for students to pursue research experiences in any of these areas, and work with faculty and other researchers in their labs. Undergraduates in our programs who have pursued research experiences have gone onto master’s and doctoral programs in their areas of research, as well as onto professional degrees, and some of our undergraduates have even published their research in peer-reviewed journals. The research products (e.g., honors thesis, research report, conference poster) created across the research experience builds a student’s portfolio and provides high-quality evidence students can use to showcase their skills to employers and graduate programs.
Although there are numerous ways to get involved in research, faculty are limited in the number of students they can supervise. The rest of this page lists common research experience opportunities that involve or do not involve course credit, and provides useful tips for connecting yourself with these opportunities.
Research opportunities in Psychology
PSYC 2001-2004 Laboratory Experience 3 credits
PSYC 5001-5004 Independent Research 3 credits
REU Program (Research Experiences for Undergraduates)
Seek volunteer opportunities in a faculty research Lab
Tips for students interested in gaining research experience
All psychology majors are required to take PSYC 3450W Experimental Psychology, which includes a laboratory component where students will get some experience with major elements of a research experience, including developing a research question, creating a method to gather data about the question, collecting and analyzing the data, and writing an APA style paper that communicates the findings of the project.
Students interested in more in-depth mentored research experiences like the ones listed above need to make connections with faculty in the psychology department, and find a faculty mentor willing to supervise the research project. To form these connections, students are encouraged to:
- Review faculty websites to learn more about their research interests.
- Take classes with full-time faculty, get to know them by going to their office hours, and let them know you are interested in working with them.
- It is helpful to take PSYC 3400 in your sophomore year, and PSYC 3450W in your junior year. These courses provide foundations in statistics and experiment design that will serve you well in a research experience, and will provide evidence to a faculty member that you are prepared for a research experience.
- The most comprehensive research experience available is to pursue an undergraduate honors thesis, which involves two semesters of independent research courses (PSYC 5001 and 5002), learn more about honors thesis requirements on the honors thesis page, and how to plan your degree so that you have identified a potential faculty mentor before your senior year.
- Be persistent and plan ahead. A potential faculty mentor may not be able to offer you a research experience on short notice. Instead, start making connections with full-time faculty in your sophomore and junior year.
If you complete a research project with a faculty member consider presenting it at Brooklyn College Science Research Day!