Undergraduate

              Volunteering in a research lab is a great way to gain valuable experience in preparation for your future careers.  It’s never too early to get involved.  Even if you aren’t sure what you want to do with your life, finding a research project that sounds interesting is a great way to learn more, and get an in depth look at what the possibilities are.  It also gives you the chance to work more closely with faculty and graduate students, who can help you reach your personal goals.  Volunteering in a research lab can help you acquire important skills that will help make you more marketable on the job market, or as you apply to graduate or professional programs.  We usually encourage undergraduate students to get involved as early as possible so that you give yourself plenty of time to have an in depth research experience.  The amount of time that you stay involved with one lab is highly related to the degree of complexity of the tasks that you end up doing.  The longer you stay, the more skills you acquire, the more leadership you take on, and the stronger the recommendation you will get from your lab advisor. 

Graduate

              Lisa Gatzke-Kopp can admit students through HDFS http://www.hhdev.psu.edu/hdfs/ or through the Neuroscience http://www.huck.psu.edu/education/neuroscience graduate programs.  If you find yourself interested in both topics, you can also consider obtaining a minor in Neuroscience. 

              Behavioral neuroscience is undergoing significant growth here at Penn State and there are a lot of opportunities to get wonderful research experience that combines the state of the art not only in the measurement of neuroscientific variables, but in the measurement of fundamental environmental impacts on neural development, as well as advanced conceptual and theoretical orientations to thinking about these developmental processes.