Resources for students

If you are a program providing opportunities to High School students, and would like to be included in our resources page, please contact us at info@asciencepro.org

What are some programs geared towards High School students in Research?

  • California:

    • https://www.teenlife.com/category/stem/STEM-summer-programs-California/

  • South San Francisco High Schools:

    • https://apply.scholarsapply.org/futurelab/

  • Bay Area:

    • https://blog.collegevine.com/high-school-internships-bay-area/

  • Stanford University:

    • https://oso.stanford.edu/programs/audiences/5-high-school-students/categories/5-research-internships

    • https://oso.stanford.edu/programs/audiences/5-high-school-students

  • UCSF:

    • https://sep.ucsf.edu/hs_programs/high-school-intern-program/

    • https://neuroscape.ucsf.edu/get-involved/volunteer/

How do I go about finding, and contacting, research labs?

Finding labs to email:

  1. Identify the local universities around you, that you could commute to

    • For an example - we will use Stanford:

  2. Identify the department you think you might be interested in

    • For example - you may really like psychology

  3. Google: Stanford University + Psychology Department

  4. Go to the website linked to the department: https://psychology.stanford.edu/

  5. Notice you can search by “Research” or “Faculty”

    • I would suggest, if you don’t have a specific faculty in mind, checking out the “Department Areas” under “Research”!

  6. Notice the options - browse each one if you don’t have one in mind. The first school you look at will take the MOST time…from there you will start narrowing your interest and learning the lingo!

    • Once you identify your favorite areas, start there!

  7. Lets say I was interested in emotion, specifically:

    • I would look into “Affective Science” first: https://psychology.stanford.edu/research/department-areas/affective-science

    • I browse the faculty, and look at their “key words” and research topics.

    • I find the faculty that are studying things interesting to me, and copy down their email addresses.

  8. Once you have a list of email addresses, you can start writing your emails!

Writing your email to a faculty member:

  • Things you want to include (the email should be no more than 2 paragraphs, 2-3 sentences each):

    • If you have one, how you heard about the lab:

      • An article you read from their lab

      • A recommendation from someone the faculty might know

      • A general interest that got you to their lab website

    • The position you are interested in:

      • Volunteer Research Assistant (longer-term), or Volunteer Intern (short-term)

    • Why you are interested in the lab

    • The amount of time you can dedicate a week, and whether that is during the day or not (i.e., “during working hours” or “after 4pm”)

    • Any relevant skills or experiences you have

    • Your updated, and customized, CV

  • Things you DO NOT want to include:

    • “I am just wanting to see what research is like” … sounds like “I will only be around for a week or two”

    • “I am looking forward to the opportunities to publish my work and/or lead research projects”…sounds like “I have unrealistic expectations of what this job will get me, and therefore will get bored fast”