作者简介

Ud Okorafor ChaseFuture 导师

教育经历：库伯高等科学艺术联盟学院

硕士 | 化学工程

Ud本科毕业于哥伦比亚大学化学工程专业，进入哥大之前，他在卡内基梅隆大学完成了一年级的学业。此前，他在马萨诸塞州的一所寄宿学校花了五年时间申请大学。大学期间，Ud参加了两种不同的科学研究项目。他利用自己的空闲时间观看和参加体育活动，并阅读各种小说、与朋友一道外出。

作为一个本科生如何寻找研究机会？

How to Find Research Opportunities as an Undergrad？

This article is written for readers who plan on attending grad school, medical school, or obtaining a job in science and believe that research experience will make you a more attractive candidate. Here are some general tips to finding research opportunities. This post will focus more on school-year research. Part II will discuss summer research opportunities.

你计划进入研究院／医学院学习或找一份自然科学领域的工作，并且认为研究经历能够使你的申请看上去更有吸引力。下面给出一些寻找研究机会的一般性建议。这篇文章将更偏向于探讨学年间的研究。在第二部分中我们将探讨暑期的研究机会。

Determine what subjects you want to conduct research

Before looking for research opportunities, you need to find the field that interests you the most. In addition to finding a field, you must specify what about the field interests you and what specifically you want to research about that field. Google Scholar is one of the best resources to use to determine your interests. It allows you to search articles and research papers on a variety of subjects. Also, you should look at the leading scientific journals for interesting fields of research.

确定你想要研究的主题

在寻找研究机会之前，你需要找出自己最感兴趣的领域。除此之外，你必须弄清楚此领域中是什么使你感兴趣以及你想研究的是哪方面？Google学术是帮助你敲定兴趣点的最佳资源之一。它支持你搜索众多学科的文献及研究报告。同时，你应该查看你所感兴趣领域的前沿期刊。

Determine when you want to conduct the research

There are two different time periods where research can be done. Those periods are the summer and school year. Summer research can occur at your university or at any university in the world. School-year research typically occurs at your university or at a university nearby. The process for obtaining a research opportunity varies between the two time periods. The following steps focus on school-year research.

确定你的研究时间

有两个不同的时间段可供你做学术研究，它们分别是暑假期间与学年间。暑期研究能够在你自己的学校或世界上任何一所学校进行。学年研究则通常在你本校或附近学校完成。获取两个不同时间段的研究机会的路径是不同的，下面所讲述的内容主要针对学年研究。

Research the professors at your university and universities near your university

You should look at the professors at your university and nearby universities who do work in the field that interests you. Make a list of the professors who work in your field interests you and rank them based on that interest.

搜寻本校及附近学校的教授

你应该去了解在本校及附近学校哪些教授在做你感兴趣领域的研究。列出这个领域内你感兴趣的教授的信息并且依照自己的喜好给他们排个序。

Connect with undergraduate and graduate students who work in labs

Now that you have your list of professors, you should contact students who work in the professors’ labs. You can contact these students by email or in person. Often these students are members of professional organizations like the American Chemical Society. The majority of colleges have these organizations. Undergraduate students would be the most beneficial since they would understand your position better. Ask for advice on how to approach the professor and whether they can recommend you to the professor.

联系在实验室工作的本科生或研究生

列下了教授名单之后，你应该去联系在这些教授的实验室里工作的学生们。你可以通过电邮来联系他们或与他们见面。通常这些学生可能是像美国化学社团这样的专业组织的成员。多数大学有这些组织。本科学生是你最好的选择，因为他们能更好地理解你的处境。请他们给出一些关于如何联系教授的建议，或询问他们是否能够将你推荐给教授。

Contact Professors

Keep in mind that you are more likely to obtain a research opportunity at your university than at a nearby university. You should email the professors stating your interest in a research opportunity in their labs and requesting a meeting to further discuss that interest. Professors are inundated with numerous emails daily. Thus, you need to be patient. If you do not receive a response a week after sending an email, you should stop by the professor’s office and introduce yourself.

联系教授

记住比起附近学校，你更有可能在本校获得研究机会。你应该给教授发邮件说明你想获得一个在其实验室做研究的机会，并申请与教授见面以更深入地探讨你的研究兴趣。教授们每天都会被大堆邮件埋没。因此，你需要有点耐心。如果发邮件一周之后你仍然没有得到回复，你应该去一趟教授办公室向其当面介绍一下自己。

There is a possibility that you will not find any school-year research opportunities. Do not despair. You can contact the professors next year to see if there is a spot in their lab. You can also look at summer research opportunities.

有可能你找不到任何学年中做研究的机会。别气馁。你可以明年继续联系教授看看他们的实验室是否有职位空缺。同时你也可以寻找暑期研究的机会。