Yale Undergraduate Research Assistant

Yale undergraduates interested in joining The CCC @ Yale should contact the Center Manager via email for information. Although it’s somewhat helpful if you’ve taken previous courses in cognitive science or psychology, the only prerequisites for working in the lab are an interest in comparative cognition questions and some experience working with dogs. 

All undergraduates work in the lab for Yale directed research credit. During the semester, you must commit to working at least eight-to-ten (full-credit PSYC 492/493 class, tutorial form here; CGSC 471/472, tutorial form here) or four-to-six (half-credit PSYC 495 class, tutorial form here) hours per week. If you don’t have this much time to commit per week, please think carefully about whether this is the right semester to join the lab. Please note that you cannot enroll in PSYC 495 if you have not yet taken PSYC 110.

In lab, you’ll work with a team of students on a single project headed by a lab ‘Project Head,’ usually a graduate student or more advanced undergraduate that has been working in the lab for some time. Each project is aimed at exploring a particular question within canine cognition. Depending on the specific studies you are working on, you will spend your time in lab running studies with dogs, coding, and doing video analysis. During the first lab meeting of the year, you’ll be introduced to all of the different projects and will get to choose one that fits your interests and your schedule.

Before you are approved to work in the center, you’ll need to:

  1. Send an email to CCC @ Yale Center Manager Emily Richards (e.richards@yale.edu) indicating your interest including a small paragraph about your experience with dogs and whether you have taken PSYC 110.
  2. Complete several online trainings through AALAS prior to the start of the semester you begin, details will be provided upon acceptance.
  3. Fill out the Animal Handler Form and bring it to Employee Health (form will be sent as an attachment in response to initial acceptance email)
  4. Keep checking your training status at www.yale.edu/training and once you have a green check mark next to ‘Medical Surveillance for Animal Handlers’ send Emily an email.
  5. Come to the first lab meeting of the semester (details will be emailed out before the start of the semester)