Looking to see if I can get a research position perhaps during the year. How can I go about doing this (other than emailing every single prof whose work I am interested in)? Any links?

Originally Posted by oxelhs

Looking to see if I can get a research position perhaps during the year. How can I go about doing this (other than emailing every single prof whose work I am interested in)? Any links?

You can try on OSCAR, but other than that emailing is the way to go.

As a warning, you're probably not going to have much luck. Most profs already have undergrads for the year. These are typically thesis students and/or students who worked in the lab in the summer. It's rare for a prof to be looking for a new student in August, and even rarer for them to take a new student on for September if they're not a co-op or thesis/project student.

You may have a better chance if you're just looking for a volunteer position, however.

Hmm okay... I will try for next summer then. When do profs generally accept students? March/April?

To do it through oscar you need to qualify for osap, and apply for the macwork program.

Seriously the best thing is to either walk up and talk to a prof, or email them.

Originally Posted by oxelhs

Hmm okay... I will try for next summer then. When do profs generally accept students? March/April?

If you want to get a summer research position (and/or project supervisor), you need to start emailing profs as early as January.

The prof I'm working with is really busy - I emailed him in early January, and by the time we got through the interview, the forms we needed to fill out, etc., it was already the end of March. Look up profs over the Christmas break so that when you get back, you're ready to send out emails.

You can always ask to volunteer during the year. This can lead to something during the school year. Some programs also have independent studies for second/third/fourth year students. You could look into that.
Before you email a prof, read 3-4 of their recent articles. Do not send a generic email to all the profs. You will be deleted.

Originally Posted by oxelhs

Hmm okay... I will try for next summer then. When do profs generally accept students? March/April?

By March/April, most already have their thesis/project students for the following year. You may be able to get a summer position (since not all thesis/project students work in those labs during the summer), but you might not get to keep that position for during the year.

That said, it's not impossible in March/April. If you qualify for McWork there are often research postings for the summer.

sorry i can't help... but why do people do research with a prof ?
is that good or helpful ? what is the point of it ? O.o

Originally Posted by Ponyo

sorry i can't help... but why do people do research with a prof ?
is that good or helpful ? what is the point of it ? O.o

Contacts. Experience. Monay.