Image
lab group photo

The Psychology Department offers undergraduates many opportunities to engage in research. Each semester, over 300 students work in research labs and earn college credit.

Title
Types of Undergraduate Research
Body

PSYC 290 Research Experience

PSYC 290 Research Experience is for the Casual Researcher who just needs some elective hours, or for the Exploring/Determined Researcher wanting to explore pursuing a research career, including applying to grad school, PSYC 290 is the starting point. More information about PSYC 290.

PSYC 494 Advanced Research

PSYC 494 is the next step after PSYC 290 for undergraduates who want more research experience. In PSYC 494 Advanced Research, students take on more responsibility in the lab, and it requires submitting a paper at the end of the semester. More information about PSYC 494.

Honors Program

The Honors Program is a three-semester sequence of courses, taken along with PSYC 494, offers undergraduates an opportunity to create scholarly work on a specific research project, culminating in a bachelor's thesis. More information about the Honors Program.

Capstone Program

The Capstone Program two-semester sequence of courses, taken along with PSYC 494, offers undergraduates an opportunity to write a bachelor's thesis with the support of faculty mentors. More information about the Capstone Program.

Apply for an Undergraduate Research Scholarship in Psychological Science

The goal of this program is to enable research opportunities for students who face financial and time constraints that otherwise prevent them from participating in research. More information about the application process.

Block Reference

Featured Research Opportunity

Summer 2025 Research Assistant, Brain and Cognitive Development Lab, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Dr. Dan Hyde is looking for an undergraduate research assistant for a longitudinal study in the Brain and Cognitive Development Lab at University of Illinois in Champaign, IL. The project uses functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and event-related potentials (ERPs) to examine the relationship between functional brain re-organization and numeracy in children from 3-6 years with a multi-wave, longitudinal design. Duties will include direct data collection with...