The time of year to start looking for research/thesis positions is approaching! We know it can be really daunting to reach out to professors so here is a quick guide with our advice on how to secure a research position for the upcoming year!
1. How to Find the Professor(s) One of the first steps of finding research is discovering something that you are interested in! You will be working in a professor’s lab for at least a semester or longer so making sure you are doing something that aligns with your interests and passions is really important. You can do this by finding professors on Faculty Staff website lists. Here they will include all of the professors and staff doing research in your interested faculty. Oftentimes there will be a short blurb about the professor's research as well. You can go through this and see what you find interesting! Some links can be found below for the Faculty of Health Sciences, Biochemistry, Chemistry & Chemical Biology, and Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour. Other faculties and staff can be found by just searching through Google! Another way to find research and a professor to work with is to ask upper year students (such as your WiSTEM mentors!!) who are currently in laboratories right now. They will most likely be able to tell you which professors are accepting students, when they are most likely to be hiring for the next year, and general lab advice as well. This can be a great resource! 2. How to Email the Professor(s) When you have found the professor/lab you would like to work with, it’s time to draft your email! It’s important to have a good, concise template that you can tailor to each professor's research. To begin, introduce yourself by listing aspects such as your program, current interests, and the position you’d like. Then, you can specifically mention the professor's work to showcase what you’re interested in. For example, this can include information you’ve found on their website (i.e., current/past projects) or any papers you may have read. This section should demonstrate the interest and passion you have for your professors' work to capture their attention! Lastly, ask them for a meeting and thank them for their time and consideration. Be sure to also attach your resume/CV and transcript in this initial email because most professors will ask for it. 3. Follow up! Once you’ve emailed your prof, it’s possible you won’t get a reply from them for a few days. Don’t get discouraged by this, as this is quite normal! Professors are usually swamped with emails from hundreds of other students, and it's common for them to miss yours. For this reason, it's important that you follow up within a week to express that you are still interested and are passionate about obtaining the position. The follow-up email you prepare should be kept short and concise, as well as consist of asking the professor about the status of your application and reiterating your interest towards their research. It may also be helpful to mention how eager you are to get the opportunity to work alongside them and offer to meet them in person if possible. Lastly, make sure to end off professionally and politely! We hope that these tips can help you secure a research position! Links to professors & staff in some of the major research faculties can be found below :) Goodluck! Links to Faculty Staff Websites: Health Sciences: https://bhsc.mcmaster.ca/about/faculty/ Biochemistry: https://healthsci.mcmaster.ca/biochem/about-us/people Chemistry & Chemical Biology: https://www.chemistry.mcmaster.ca/people/full-time-faculty.html PNB: https://www.science.mcmaster.ca/pnb/people/faculty.html
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