Research opportunities
How to get undergraduate research experience
Many undergraduate research positions are never posted. They go to students who email a professor, show they have read the lab's work, and ask for something small. You do not need experience to start. You need a short, specific email sent to enough of the right people.
- How spots are filled
- Often by email, not a posting
- Typical first role
- Volunteer or for-credit research assistant
- Usual commitment
- 8 to 10 hours a week for two terms
- When to start asking
- One term before you want to begin
Where undergraduate research positions come from
There are four doors into a lab, and most students only try the first one. Posted positions on department job boards and work-study listings exist, but they tend to draw a crowd.
The biggest door is a direct email to a professor. Labs take undergraduates all the time without advertising, because it is easier to say yes to a good email than to write a job ad. Funded summer programs are the third door; see summer research programs. The fourth is a research course for credit, such as an independent study or honours thesis, which still starts with finding a professor willing to supervise you.
What professors look for in an undergraduate
Professors are not hiring for what you already know. A first-year student who shows up every week is worth more to a lab than a senior who disappears at midterms. What they are screening for is simpler:
- A real reason you picked their lab, ideally one paper or project you can name
- Hours you can commit each week, and for how many terms
- One skill the lab can use soon: a course lab, some coding, careful note-taking
- Signs you will learn the routine work first without complaint
- A resume they can skim in thirty seconds
How to ask
Build a list of 15 to 30 professors whose recent papers you can honestly say interest you, then email them in batches of five to eight, so you can handle any yeses and improve your email between rounds. Each one gets a short email of its own: who you are, the one paper that caught your attention and why, what you can offer, and a small ask. Send on a weekday morning, follow up once after a week, and keep going down your list. The full method, with examples, is in how to email a professor for research.
Example email to a professor
The names and papers are made up. Swap in your own details and a real paper from the professor's page.
Subject: Second-year biology student interested in your soil microbiome work
Dear Professor Lindqvist,
I'm a second-year biology student at [your university]. I read your 2025 paper on nitrogen-fixing bacteria in restored prairie soil, and pairing field sampling with sequencing is exactly the kind of work I want to learn.
In my microbiology lab this term I've practised sterile technique, plating and PCR. I can commit 8 to 10 hours a week through next summer.
Would you have room for an undergraduate volunteer or research student? My resume is attached.
Best regards, Maya Chen BSc Biology, Year 2
Common questions
Can I get undergraduate research with no experience?
Yes. Most students' first position is their first experience. Professors expect to train you; what they want to see is interest in their specific work and reliable hours. See research with no experience.
Are undergraduate research positions paid?
Some are. First positions are often volunteer or for course credit. Paid roles come from work-study, a professor's grant, or funded summer programs such as NSF REU sites in the US and NSERC USRA awards in Canada.
How many professors should I email?
Plan on 15 to 30 individually written emails. Many professors will not reply, usually because they are busy rather than uninterested, so volume and a single polite follow-up matter more than a perfect first email.
What year should I start?
First or second year is ideal. Labs value students who can stay for several terms, and an early start leaves time to earn a strong recommendation letter or a paid summer role later.