Research Opportunities

One advantage of attending the Johns Hopkins University is the opportunity to participate in research as an undergraduate. Faculty members at the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, the Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine regularly have openings for qualified undergraduates to participate in research. A student may earn up to six credits per year with a maximum total of 24 credits which count towards the 120 needed for graduation. More important than credits, research experience complements classroom education by teaching laboratory skills and critical thinking.

What are the requirements for Undergraduate Research?

Faculty make a large investment of time and resources in students who do research in their laboratories. Students thinking about working on a research project should first consider several important points.

• The first is that they have adequate free time available. On average it requires 9 hours per week of laboratory work to earn 3 credits per semester. It is recommended that this time be available in a small number of large blocks, such as three afternoons per week. Working on weekends is possible, but the initial training period will require the student to be in the lab at the same time as the faculty member.
  
• The second requirement is disciplined study habits. To have 9 hours per week free for research, students must be able to keep up with their courses.
  
• The third requirement is commitment. Faculty expect students to work with them for more than one semester in order to complete a research project. It usually takes several months of training before students are able to work on their own project, so students must plan to work for at least a year on a specific project.

How do you find an undergraduate research position in a lab?

There are several approaches to finding a research position.

• Some positions available in the School of Public Health are in the book at the Greenhouse.
  
• Consulting the web page of the departments of interest, where a list of the faculty member and their research interests can be found.
  
• Ask friends or acquaintances if they know of openings.

From these sources, a student can choose several faculty members whose research is of interest to them.

• The student should then go to the web pages of those faculty members and locate the list of the professor's current publications. Students can obtain these publications from the library and read one or two to gain further insights into the type of research carried out by the faculty member.
  
• He or she should contact the faculty member expressing interest and inquiring if a position would be available. Be brief, and ask for an interview. Please do not spam the faculty. Write to individuals. If the faculty member responds favorably, the student should write a resume listing their academic qualifications, previous experience, and schedule showing the time they have available for research, and bring this to the interview. Treat the interview like a job interview.
  
• If the faculty member has no room, ask if she or he knows of any other faculty with openings.

How do you register for Undergraduate Research?

After finding a research position, students must register to receive academic credit. If the professor is a full-time member of Arts and Sciences or Engineering, students register for undergraduate research in that professor's department. To register, in addition to a registration slip with the professor's signature, students also submit an "Undergraduate Research/Independent Supplemental Registration Form" for full-time members of the Homewood faculty and a "Summary Report of Independent Work" form when the term is completed.

Students working for a member of the faculty of Public Health sign up for 280.512 Introduction to Research and must ask Drs. Gebo or Goodyear to act as a sponsor. The student will be required to fill out the Requirements for Students Conducting Independent Research Agreement. Drs. Gebo and Goodyear must receive a report at the end of the semester describing the work of the student and the grade for the course. This is a "Summary Report of Independent Work" form, obtained from the Registrar. The scientific mentor determines this grade. The students must also write a 3-5 page paper using the introduction, materials & methods, results and conclusions format of a scientific paper.

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