Research at Berkeley - Ashley

Ashley is a dual degree student graduating in Fall, 2023 who attended the Reims campus of Sciences Po! She studied Politics and Government at Sciences Po and is currently finishing an Economics degree at UC Berkeley. Here she gives an overview of her experience with and advice regarding the research opportunities available to students at Berkeley.

When I got to Berkeley, I was overwhelmed by all the research opportunities that were out there, so I’ve written a short guide as to how to get research and what to look for if that’s what you’re interested in. It’s definitely a good way for you to discover your own interests but it can also be a lot of work – make sure that you’re ready to take on the time commitment!

URAP

The biggest and most well-known way to get involved in research is probably through the Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program (URAP). The program itself allows students to earn academic credits (1-4 units) which corresponds roughly to how many hours students should be spending on research per week (about 3-4 hours per unit). In the beginning of each semester, the URAP website is updated with a list of all the available research projects for that semester, including a couple paragraphs describing the research subject and ideal student candidate for each project, written by the supervising professor. I remember scrolling through what seemed like an unlimited list of projects and being fascinated by so many of them, but make sure you prioritise the ones that fit both your interests and your qualifications/skills: you are only allowed to apply to three projects, and even if selected for all of them, you can only choose one to work on. The application for URAP typically closes in the second week of the school year, and spots can be competitive since most projects receive many applications. The applications itself consists of writing a couple paragraphs as a statement of interest for each project, as well as filling in some basic details. If the professor likes your application, they will typically invite you for an interview where you will get the chance to speak with them personally and ask them questions about the project and what your role would be. The research itself starts around week three or four of the semester, depending on how long interviews take. At the end of the URAP project, you will also be expected to submit a short report on your learning experiences, which is an opportunity to reflect on what you have learnt through your research throughout the semester. URAP projects might roll over to the next semester or you might choose to reapply for a new project in the following term.

So far, I’ve really enjoyed my experience with URAP, especially since I had the opportunity to work on a research project outside of my major (Economics). The project I’m currently working on is for "Rapid Reviews: COVID-19" and "Rapid Reviews: Infectious Diseases", open access interdisciplinary medical journals which are a joint initiative of UC Berkeley and the MIT Press. The research that I do provides an interesting break from my academic studies, and allows me to explore one of my interests outside of the Economics domain. Many of my friends who also are doing/did URAP typically found project that don’t correlate to their majors, so it’s a great way to expand and do real-world research beyond what you’re learning in the classroom. Even if you miss the deadline for URAP, or don’t find a project that you’re particularly interested in, there are still so many different opportunities out there!

Reaching out to Professors Directly

Given the size of faculty at Berkeley, another option is to directly speak to professors working on research that interests you. While this is something that might be more common for hard sciences, it’s still definitely a worthwhile strategy and even if you doesn't result in a research opportunity, you’ll end up having gained knowledge through your interactions with a professor working in a domain that you’re interested in. I haven’t personally found research via this route, but I have many friends who have and who have found it to be more valuable than URAP since it allows them hone in on their interests more specifically and to find research that aligns directly with those. One of my friends really enjoyed a class that we took together and went to office hours regularly; at the end of the semester they asked if the professor was working on any research and were offered the opportunity to become an UGSI for the course.

Major-Specific Research

I’ve also been doing specific Economics research that I found after being admitted into the major. A couple of weeks into the semester, the department sends out a list of projects that current PhD students are working on, as well as an application to work on one of those projects as a research assistants. The application is quite general and asks about your experiences in research and prompts you to select the upcoming projects you’re interested in. Once your application is uploaded, the PhD students can also look through all the applicants and contact you even if you didn’t select their project if they feel that your experiences/skills align with the research they’re doing. I’ve done research on the specific effects of the Bracero program on Mexican women, which allowed me to refine data wrangling and analysis skills that I had learnt, practicing them through a real-life application. These types of research projects mostly require data analysis and coding in specific disciplines according to what the organizing PhD student is studying.

Research opportunities are, quite honestly, everywhere and most people who want to do research end up finding a way to get involved in some form. Definitely don’t be discouraged if you apply to URAP in your first semester and don't get selected - there are so many projects and opportunities out there!