Obtaining hands-on experience in a neuroscience lab is an exciting experience that will complement what you'll learn in the classroom.

You do not need to have any prior experience — the lab will provide a mentor and the necessary training.

The process of finding a lab is unstructured. Most undergrads find their positions by cold-emailing the PI (Principal Investigator, aka the faculty member who heads the lab*).*

Getting Started

1. Read the guides linked in Step 1 on this page, and think about what you would like to get out of your research experience.
2. Explore the research labs affiliated with Harvard. How?
   • The links in Step 2 (same page) will help you find all opportunities. There are over 200 neuro-related labs! If you don’t know where to start, begin with the Brain Science Initiative.
   • The Open Projects Database is a place where labs can choose to post projects for which they are currently recruiting undergraduate assistants. Note that only a small portion of opportunities are posted here – cold emailing is still the primary way that undergrads connect with projects.
   • A great place to learn more about ongoing projects is the HUROS fair, held every Fall usually in mid-to-late-October.
   • We now have a brand new Thesis Database of all prior undergraduate theses in Neuroscience. Explore it to see the wide range of projects that people have completed in the past!
3. Make a list of ~3-10 labs whose work interests you most.
4. Send personalized emails to the PIs (Principal Investigator, aka the faculty member who heads the lab). You are welcome to send emails to and interview with a few labs at a time. Not all labs will have open positions, and this gives you an opportunity to find a better fit.

Writing Emails to PIs

It’s best to tailor the email to the lab and include some specifics (so it doesn't sound like a generic inquiry that you’ve sent to multiple labs). Below is an outline you can use as a starting place. Each bullet can be even just 1 sentence, because you want the email overall to be relatively short.

• Start by briefly introducing yourself and the reason for your email (i.e. you’d like to speak about undergraduate research opportunities in their lab).

• Next: mention a specific piece of their research that interest you. To get this information, read the lab’s website and skim a few recent publications. Your application will be stronger if you convey not only some knowledge of the lab’s research area, but also a genuine interest in their scientific goals and technical approaches. Citing more recent publications is best because projects change over time.

• Next: Tell them about yourself, what your goals are and why you want to do research with their group. Describe any previous experiences that may be relevant.

  Prior experience is not required for joining most research groups. Many undergraduates have not had much, if any, previous research experience.

  Other skills might be relevant, though. For example, some research requires working with children. Coding is a huge skill in many research settings, so if you’ve taken CS 32, AM 10, etc, mention that.

• Logistics: Give a timeline of your ideal start date, how many hours per week you can devote during the academic term and/or a sense of how research would fit into your class schedule (i.e. MWF afternoons I am available from 2 pm on).

• Closing/call to action: Request a short meeting to learn more about ongoing projects in the lab.

• Ideally, you will also attach a CV (which is like a resume, but focused on science and here very short). For this context, you can include relevant coursework too. Here’s an example.