Working as a Research Assistant

Many Northwestern undergraduates work as research assistants for faculty members for pay or for independent study course credit. Student research assistants take part in a range of research activities--from preparing materials and collecting data in science labs to conducting and summarizing library research to managing databases, conducting data analyses, organizing project records, and much more.

Are you on financial aid? Is work-study part of your financial aid package? Work-studystudents have priority for many research assistant positions on campus. If you're not on financial aid, you can still read about work-study positions to get an idea of what's available.

Take a look, too, at what's going on at some of the University's research centers. Among these are the Institute for Policy Research, the Center for Sleep and Circadian Biology, and the Institute for Health Services Research and Policy Studies. Some research centers have grants that let them hire undergraduate research assistants.

You should also investigate ways that Northwestern and Weinberg College provide funding for undergraduate research.

You may want to take a look at how to do research as an independent study, the College’s rules about independent studies, and some tips on finding a faculty adviser. If someone is doing work you'd like to get involved with, you can contact him or her to ask if any paid positions are available. If not, you can think about the possibility of working with that person for course credit (e.g., 399) instead. In some cases, you may be able to count that independent study toward your major requirements; consult the Director of Undergraduate Studies for your major to find out.