Join The Team

You can read about some of the ongoing research themes here and about my approach to mentorship here. Team members will play active roles in shaping and advancing the research that we do moving forward.

We’re recruiting up to two PhD students this application cycle (to start in fall 2025)! If you're excited about the lab's research themes, you share our values, and you want to build your own research program, then I encourage you to apply.

I’m committed to supporting my mentees as they develop their own research programs and pursue their own career goals, be they in research, teaching, industry, etc. I welcome applicants who are interested in being co-mentored (see faculty). 

You’re very welcome to email me before you apply to ask questions and to determine whether your training is appropriate for the research that we do. I will only meet with students after our program has received all applications.

Applications are due on Dec 1, 2024, and fee waivers are due two weeks before that. To find out more, see the UCSB website.

In your personal statement, here are some topics that I encourage you to address.

Your past, relevant (research) experiences: 

• What have you learned from these experiences? 

• What are your experiences with open science? (It’s okay if you haven’t engaged with this yet.) 

• How have your lived experiences informed the research that you want to do? 

The questions that you hope to address in graduate school: 

• What theories and discoveries sparked your interest in psychology? 

• What are the big-picture questions vs. the smaller, more specific questions that you want to tackle in graduate school? 

• Why are these questions important for psychology and/or for society? 

The fit: 

• Why do you want to work with me?

• How do your academic goals align with the lab's interests?

Here are resources that may be helpful as you’re working on grad school applications.

• General resources from the Psych Research List (by Dr. Meltem Yucel) and from the PINE Lab (PI: Dr. Laurel Gabard-Dunham)

• Programs that support folks' applications for PhD programs: Harvard PPREP, Berkeley's Pipeline to the PhD, UPenn's DivE, and the Application Statement Feedback Program

• "Demystifying the Graduate School Application Process" (by Cesar Estien and colleagues)

• Advice on navigating finances while applying (by Alexis Smith-Flores)

Our goal for undergraduate students is that you actively participate in the research process, including experimental design, data collection and analysis, and science communication. We want to train our undergraduate students to think critically and to grow in independence (e.g., generating new study ideas).

During the school year, we ask that you either sign up for credit for your work or apply for funding to support your work.

Please note: Undergraduate students must be able to work 10 to 12 hours per week, preferably for at least 3 quarters.

If you're interested in joining our lab for the winter quarter, please complete this Google Form by Dec 10, 2024.

Students who have completed at least one quarter in our lab will be eligible to be considered for pursuing an honors thesis with us.

Here are some ways to get involved:

• Credit for research: PSY 99/199, the Honors Program

• Funding for research: 

  • The California Alliance for Minority Participation (both summer and school year)

  • UC LEADS (both summer and school year)

  • The McNair Scholars Program (both summer and school year; only for new transfer students and sophomore students)

  • The Gene and Susan Lucas Fund (for first-generation college students)

  • ARC (summer only)

  • Psi Chi

• For additional opportunities, please see: https://undergrad.research.ucsb.edu/get-started/programs-and-funding/research-opportunities/

We're open to hiring postdocs! As a postdoc in the lab, you’ll have the time, resources, and the mentorship that you need to thrive, to hone and enhance your research program, and to prepare you for what's next. 

If you’re interested in postdocing with our lab, please email me with your ideas of questions that we could tackle together.

Our lab has funding to support a postdoc for up to two years. We also are open to working together on a fellowship application the year before your intended start date. Here are some possibilities:

• NSF SBE

• NIH NRSA

• Canadian fellowships (e.g., NSERC, SSHRC, Banting)

• UC President's Postdoctoral Fellowship (Note: This requires a tenured co-mentor)

Note: The information in this section is out of date, and it will be updated for future application cycles.

The lab manager will work closely with me, and will be responsible for managing and overseeing the team of undergraduate students, the running of studies, the data that the lab collects, and our IRB protocols. This job will provide opportunities for professional development and for co-authorship on papers, and it will help prepare you for graduate studies and jobs in research more broadly.