Hello Spartans and thank you for your interest in joining the Fitzsimmons Lab! Unfortunately there are often more talented undergraduate students than available opportunities. To be considered to work in the lab, undergraduate researchers are required to:
Be able to work in the lab for at least 2 semesters (or 1 semester + 1 summer)
Commit to 8-10 hours within the work week (Mon-Fri), in continuous 3-4 hours blocks of time, during business hours (8 AM - 6 PM)
Training students from scratch takes a large time commitment for a mentor to do it properly. To have a fulfilling experience, our goal is for you to achieve independence. This requires both repetition and time. As an undergraduate, your main priority is your education, so it will take longer to accumulate the practice needed for independence compared to someone working full-time in a research lab.
Many of the techniques we perform require 3-4 hours or are completed across multiple days. In order to gain experience, you need to physically be in the lab to do the work. Being available between 8AM and 6PM covers the range of time where someone will be in lab and can assist with experimental questions and safety concerns.
Read the lab website or a recent lab publication to determine if the research is interesting to you, you can articulate your interest, and that you meet the time requirements?
Write an email to Dr. Fitzsimmons in the format shown below and attach a resume or CV?
Complete the undergraduate research interest form?
Here is an example of what should go into your email:
Subject: Informative subject line giving an idea of why you are emailing
Dear Professor / Dr. [Last Name],
My name is [Your first and last name] and I am currently a [year at MSU] majoring in [subject]. Sentence about why you are sending this email. Sentence on where you learned about the Fitz lab.
Explain why you are interested in doing research and why you want to do research in this lab (Be specific! This can be a personal connection, related career goal, something you learned from class or a research paper, etc.).
Indicate if you have attached any documents (like a resume), if there is an active opportunity for undergrads, and if you have completed the interest form (the last two things are Fitz Lab specific).
Closing sentence thanking the person for their time and consideration.
Sign off (sincerely, best wishes, etc.),
[Your Name]
I know it's tempting to use ChatGPT or other AI tools to help you email professors. While it's important to "say" the correct things in your email, it's also important to introduce yourself as a person, and with AI-generated emails we lose that personal element and inevitably they end up sounding exactly the same.
When I'm looking for undergraduates, I'm looking for people who are curious and hard-working. It's OK if you're new to research, I can teach you technical skills. However, I cannot teach tenacity or curiosity, those come from you. The primary goals of being involved in undergraduate research are to learn critcal thinking skills, independence, and communication. Regardless of whether you intend to pursue a PhD, or go onto another degree in law, medicine, or teaching, being able to think critically is an invaluable skill for anyone. If you join the lab, I promise to help you reach your career goals. In return, I'm asking for your commitment.
Lastly, as I mentioned above, there are often far more undergraduates who are interested in research than there are opportunities. Much like a job application, not everyone can be chosen. Completing the steps above does not entitle you to an interview. However, it makes it more likely you will be contacted when we have openings. My goal in sharing all of this is so that you can benefit whether or not you end up working in the Fitz Lab.