Approaching Professor About Research

[eagle84]

So, I am in my first year at my college. In our honors program, we have an opportunity for second semester freshman to get into research their first year. I found a professor who agreed to meet with me, but I'm not sure what to start the conversation about and so on.

 

First, I'm trying to get lab research, but this program is open to all research. If he's not interested in lab research, then I'd rather take my chances applying as a volunteer with other professors working their own lab research. How should I bring that up to him? I know lab research would be a draw on his time, and I'm not sure who to bring it up to him without sounding like I'm being arrogant and entitled.

 

Also, how should I start? Should I ask him what he would be interested in researching, or start of by throwing my interests out there? Basically any advice is welcome.

 

Thanks!

[CharonY]

It helps if you get a general sense of what the prof is doing by looking at his website and publication list. Do not focus too much on that, though, as they may have moved on. It is more to get an idea of what they may be up to.

Unless the prof is starting off with some general chit-chat I would straight ask whether they would be willing to take you up for some lab training. Note that it is quite a time investment on their part and if you can make the case that it would be worth their time (i.e. that you are willing to learn and work hard, and that you can demonstrate interest in the field), you are already halfway there.

 

Throwing out your specific interests is usually not that helpful as in your first semester you are unlikely to have any depth of knowledge in a given field. Often, they may ask you about your career plans, but again, in first semester there is usually too much uncertainty.

[timo]

I think your way to go is rather straightforward:

 

1) Prepare for the meeting by trying to get an understanding of what the professor is doing, i.e. the field he or she is working in and the kind of research he or she is doing. For me, being a person who can find an interest in many different things, this automatically leads to ideas, interests and questions. Don't take them too serious, as you are effectively basing them on little information (also see the post of CharonY regarding specific interests). But they are a good preparation for a meeting in the sense that you can contribute to the discussion, rather than being given a monologue about the group's research.

 

2) Don't be worried about being open about your motives: You want to get some lab research experience in a field that you are hopefully a bit interested in, and you want to ask about opportunities to get this experience in the professor's group. There is nothing wrong with this, and it seems like a good opener to me. The objective of the meeting is finding a path of action that you are both satisfied with. So stating your interest is perfectly fine and helpful, as long as you don't try to enforce it over the professor's interests during the course of the discussion.

[Arete]

I have a number of undergrads working in my lab, and many more than I can take on apply. I ask about research interests, career goals, GPA and how much time you can invest.

 

1. Research interests - I'm making sure what you are interested in aligns with what my lab does. If you express a strong interest in neurobiology, I'll point you in the direction of someone who does that, because it's not what my lab does. Talking about your interests with a professor can be very helpful, even if it turns out their lab is not a good fit for you.

 

2. Career goals - I don't care so much if your ideas aren't solid, so long as you're open to a STEM career, and you're not a pre-med student looking to tick the "letter of rec from a professor" box and move on.

 

3. GPA - taking on research adds to your workload and takes away study time. If a student is already struggling with their courses, their research is likely to wind up a mess. I generally won't take on a student with a GPA less than 3.

 

4. I expect 6 hours a week commitment and enrolment in research credits. If someone is unwilling to commit to that, I'm generally unwilling to commit the time of my postdocs and grad students in training them.

 

Also of note is that I generally like to recruit undergrads early in their programs. That way I can get them trained and have them be useful for a couple of years.