How to get research experience without taking a class for it?

[Ghiradelli]

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My school starts charging double tuition at more than 120 credits, and I need every single credit for premed, major, and gen-ed requirements, so am unable to devote credits to an actual individual study research class which is the most straight-forward option used by others.

So... how else can I get research experience? Will a university lab take a random volunteer who walks in asking to help them with research?

What is the best way to go about doing this?

 

[DameJulie]

At my school, most pre-meds don't take research as a class. They usually get their research hours rewarded as units.

But in your case, I think the best way is just to find professors who are accepting students into his/her lab. It's totally up to the professor whether they want students working in their lab or not.

 

[Pagan FutureDoc]

ask around your university and see what research is going on, figure out which appeal to you and mesh well with the classes you’ve taken. Then start by EMAILING the PIs and putting out polite inquiries

 

[SeitenKishi]

I emailed professors whether they were willing to take undergraduate students. Keep in mind that professors are very busy, so you may have to wait a couple weeks for them to respond, or email them a couple times. For me, the professor responded after a while and he referred me to a PhD student to talk about what projects I'm interested in (note that you usually perform research independently or with a grad student, not directly with the PI).

 

[getdown]

email people just like you would when applying for jobs in the real world

 

[boogiecousins94]

also see if you know anyone who knows someone at another school- you don't have to do research at your home undergrad if you only want to do it in summers etc.

I currently work/worked in 3 different labs and none were associated with my school

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I’ve done this twice. Both times I emailed a prof I was interested in working with. One had a lab going. I had good experience doing something he needed done, and I was in. Second time was a project I wanted to do and just needed someone to provide guidance (and expertise).

 

[Boogy'sChick15]

I had talked with a professor of mine who I had a great relationship with, and after telling him I was looking for research experience he introduced me to a professor he knew that was looking for students to help him on his project.
I worked in his lab for 2 years as a volunteer, and only recently enrolled in a course to get credit for it so I could use it as my senior project.

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