Carnegie Mellon University

Faculty Research Laboratories

In addition to teaching, many of our faculty members conduct independent research on campus.  Often, they invite undergraduates to work as research assistants in their laboratories, allowing these students to contribute to cutting-edge research projects.

The requirements and needs of each lab vary, but undergraduate students generally have the opportunity to collect and prepare data, run sessions of research studies, help recruit participants for research studies, and contribute to published manuscripts. Many faculty members also hold weekly or bi-weekly lab meetings in which they discuss progress on ongoing projects, relevant scientific literature, and students’ graduate school and career options.

Work for Credit

In addition to gaining valuable research experience and skills, undergraduate students may receive course credit for their lab work. Students may receive between 3 and 12 credits per semester and can also receive course credit for working in a laboratory during the summer. Learn more about working in a lab for course credit.

Choose a Lab

The Department of Psychology is fortunate to have faculty who are world leaders in each of our areas of expertise: Social/Health, Developmental, Cognitive, and Neuroscience. To learn more about individual faculty members’ research interests, current projects, and requirements for research assistants, visit any of the laboratory websites below.

Developmental

Jessica Cantlon
Kid Neuro Lab

Anna Fisher
Cognitive Development Laboratory

David Rakison
Infant Cognition Lab

Erik Thiessen
Infant Language and Learning Lab

Cognitive

Marlene Behrmann
Cognitive Neuroscience Lab

Laurie Heller
Auditory Perception Lab

Brad Mahon
CAOS Lab

Lynn Reder
CMU Memory Lab

Tim Verstynen
Cognitive Axon Lab