Prospective research assistants

Latest status: We currently do not have any openings for new research assistants (RAs), as of winter quarter 2024.

For more informations on research opportunities in our department, check out the Stanford Psychology research assistant listing page or summer internship programs below. For Stanford undergraduates, you can also check out Academic Advising events, or reach out to PsychConnect peer advisors, your faculty major advisor, Stanford Undergraduate Psychology Association (SUPA), or your undergraduate advisor.

What we are looking for in our research assistants

We are looking for people interested in developmental psychology who are reliable and highly motivated. Candidates should be comfortable with and enjoy working with young children; prior experience working with children and/or families (e.g. teaching English, camp counseling, babysitting, caretaking of younger family members) is strongly preferred. Completion of at least one course in psychology (e.g. Psych 1, Psych 60, another developmental psychology course) that provides background knowledge about our research and basic understanding of experimental design are strongly preferred.

Familiarity with Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, Qualtrics, R (specifically tidyverse), graphic design, or video/animation software are helpful and will allow you to progress more quickly/take on more complex research tasks, but not required (and can be learned over the course of the research experience).

Prior research experience is not required.

What research assistants do and learn

Research assistants typically engage in and develop their skills in the following activities:

• reading papers to understand the scientific literature on a topic in conceptual and language development
• developing research questions
• designing psychological studies
• developing materials for studies (often in PowerPoint, Keynote, or Qualtrics)
• recruiting and collecting data from children and families (in-person or online), managing school and community partnerships
• managing, visualizing, and analyzing data (often using REDCap, Excel, Google Sheets, and R)
• collaborating and working with other researchers
• communicating science to other scientists and the public

Research assistants will learn about what it’s like to do research in psychology, and life as a researcher and graduate student in psychology. More experienced research assistants who have been working in our lab for some time often have an opportunity to conduct a more independent project with our lab, such as a senior honors thesis. Research experience in our lab will be helpful preparation if you're considering going to graduate school to do research in related topics.

Logistics and time commitment

Research assistants must do exactly one of the following: enroll in 3 units of Psych 195 during each quarter of work, be hired through federal work-study, apply and be admitted through a funded summer internship program, or apply for and receive funding that supports their living while conducting research. Research assistants may not receive both academic credit and monetary compensation for the same job on campus.

We do not accept new research assistants who seek to join us in a volunteer capacity. We also cannot accept minors (under the age of 18) as research assistants, due to supervision regulations.

Academic year or flex term research assistants

During the academic year (autumn through spring quarters) or during a flex term, Stanford undergraduates can work in our lab through one of two ways:

• enroll in and receive academic credit for 3 units of Psych 195 with Ellen Markman (1 unit equivalent to about 3 hours/week)
• if eligible, be hired through federal work-study.

A commitment of around 9 hours a week is required, and preferably for at least 2 quarters to allow for onboarding, skills training, and deeper research involvement. Please see "summer research assistants" for more information on continuing as a research assistant over the summer.

Summer research assistants

During summer quarter, we often host undergraduates from Stanford and beyond to work full-time in our lab through the following summer internship programs. Please see the program page for more information on the program stucture, eligibility, funding, and how to apply. Note that deadlines are usually January through March of the same year.

• PsychSummer Research Program for Stanford undergraduates majoring in psychology
• CSLI Summer Internship Program for non-Stanford undergraduates who are interested in cognitive science (US citizens/residents or international students attending a US institution)
• HB-REX for Stanford undergraduates majoring in human biology
• Symbolic Systems Summer Internship Program for Stanford undergraduates, preferably majoring in Symbolic Systems (SymSys)
• IRiSS Research Assistant Intern Program for students at local community colleges
• RISE Summer Internship Program for high school students interested in science, engineering, math, computer science and psychology.

Stanford undergraduates who have been research assistants in our lab for a while can apply for funding to continue doing research in our lab over the summer. For example, Stanford undergraduates who are working on a senior honors thesis project often apply for a UAR Major Grant to fund thesis-related summer work in our lab (typically the summer between junior and senior year).

Prospective graduate students and post-docs

We are happy to consider applications for graduate students and post-docs for the coming year.

Graduate students are admitted through the Department of Psychology's PhD program in the Developmental Psychology area. Information about Stanford psychology graduate admissions, including requirements, deadlines, and fee waivers, is available on the Stanford Psychology graduate admissions page. Typically, graduate applications are due in December for admission starting fall quarter of the following year, and fee waiver applications are due early November.

Prospective graduate students and post-docs may contact our lab director Ellen Markman at markman@stanford.edu with further questions.