NOTE: We are not planning to admit a primary PhD student into the lab during the 2024-2025 application cycle (i.e., to commence their PhD in September 2025). Therefore, we encourage any prospective PhD students to apply to work with Jay as a secondary mentor and list another faculty as primary mentor.

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Thank you for exploring the possibility of becoming involved in our lab! The success of the lab depends heavily upon the involvement of intelligent and passionate students.

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My mentoring philosophy is that all the members in my lab, from honors students to post-docs, are junior colleagues. Some of the most creative insights come from students who have not yet committed to particular theoretical positions. I attempt to guide my students toward important questions and give them the training and tools to conduct research, from providing a well-equipped lab to instilling a strong sense of research ethics. Our lab is a large, collaborative environment, where people with diverse expertise contribute to the production of knowledge. Our weekly lab meetings have included students and post-docs from Social Psychology, Cognition and Perception, Neural Science, Philosophy, the Law School, and Mathematics and we have hosted over 30 guest speakers in the past few years.

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We are currently accepting applications for undergraduate students, however we would like to emphasize that positions are highly competitive. To apply for a Research Assistant position, please complete this brief Google Form (you'll be asked to upload your 1pg resume and 1pg cover letter). Applications are reviewed when doctoral students or postdoctoral fellows are looking for new research assistants, so if you do not hear back right away, know that your materials will remain on file with us. If you are interested in joining the lab as a doctoral student or post-doctoral fellow, please see the respective sections below.

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Postdoctoral Fellows and Visiting Scholars 

If you are interested in working as a Postdoctoral Fellow or Visiting Scholar in our lab, please read more about our lab and the application process here. Please note that we only have the capacity to host one visiting scholar at a time. 

 

PhD Program 

We strongly encourage qualified students who wish to pursue a PhD to apply to the NYU Department of Psychology. If you are interested in completing doctoral work with NYU, please read more about our lab and the application process here. Please note that our lab specifically is not accepting students for the 2024-2025 application cycle.

MA Program 

The MA Program is structured as a terminal degree open to qualified students with diverse backgrounds who wish to develop or improve their academic and work qualifications in psychology. Many of these students ultimately gain acceptance in a variety of doctoral programs across the country and during their stay with us benefit from an in-depth advisement process. Students in our terminal MA Program can volunteer or complete research in our lab for course credit as part of their research methods and experiences or independent research courses (see here). If you would like to be considered as an MA student in my lab, please complete this brief Google Form (to apply to do a thesis in the lab, please fill out this separate Google Form). MA student positions are competitive and we generally take students with a strong academic record.

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Undergraduate Research Opportunities 

Undergraduate research opportunities include volunteer work, independent study (for course credit), honors research and summer research opportunities. If you would like to be considered for a Research Assistant position in my lab, please complete this brief Google Form. Research Assistant positions are competitive and we generally take students with a strong academic record, but no previous research experience is necessary.

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Research Experiences in Psychology

Research Experiences in Psychology is a two-credit, graded course that you can register for to receive academic credit for your work as a research assistant in the lab. Undergraduate students are paired with faculty, advanced graduate students, or other researchers on a one-to-one basis to pursue common research goals in psychology. Undergraduates serve as apprentices on survey, laboratory, clinical, and field research projects and in return receive guidance in reading and developing research skills. Weekly meetings deal with research methods and design and allow students an opportunity to speak on their research projects. (see here for more info).

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Supervised Reading in Psychology 

Supervised Reading in Psychology is a course that covers a variety of internships that psychology majors may choose to complete to advance their educational and professional goals as psychology students, including internships as research assistants in faculty labs. The process and requirements are very similar to Research Experience in Psychology, and a similar application must be completed. This course can be registered for between 2-4 credits per semester, depending on how much time will be devoted to the research internship (to discuss how many credits are appropriate, please email andy.hilford@nyu.edu). The credits received for this course do not fulfill the formal laboratory requirement that is part of the psychology major, but do count as an Advanced Elective towards the psychology major or minor (see here for more info).

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Honors Program

The goal of the Honors Program is to provide the best intellectual training the department can give to psychology majors. Honors students typically gain admittance to the best graduate and professional schools. Applications are accepted from juniors who plan to graduate the following Spring term. Requirements for application to the program include an overall and Psychology GPA > 3.65 and a faculty sponsor. In our lab, honors students take a lead role in developing, conducting and disseminating a series of studies (see here for more info). To apply to do an honors thesis in the lab, please fill out this Google Form.

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Summer Research Program 

The Center for Neural Science hosts a summer research experience program for undergraduates with an interest in neuroscience. This program is designed to foster entry into a neuroscience research-centered career. Students apply for positions in a 10-week summer program during which they actively participate in research projects in the laboratories of New York University science faculty. The NSF-REU site grant provides housing, living expense, a meal plan and reimbursement for travel to non-NYU students who are accepted into the SURP (see here for more info).

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SPSP Summer Program for Undergraduate Research (SPUR)

The Society for Personality and Social Psychology offers a brand new summer funding opportunity for college juniors, seniors, and recent grads (within 12 months of graduation) who are under-represented ethnic groups seeking to gain valuable research experience. Participating students contact a mentor, apply to SPUR, and conduct research and research-related activities full-time for 8 weeks over the summer. Students receive a $3,000 stipend to cover living expenses and up to $500 to cover travel. If you are eligible and interested in joining our lab through this funding opportunity, please contact us with your CV and research interests. For application deadlines, see here).

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Funding Resources for Research Assistants 

Research assistants can receive funding for their work in our lab. See the different funding opportunities here. Paid Summer Internships: Participation in summer internships is a great way to gain research experience and to grow intellectually. See here for a list of paid summer internships.

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Undergraduate Research Opportunities in Personality and Social Psychology

See here for a compiled list of research opportunities in psychology for undergraduate students.

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Post-Graduate Research Opportunities 

NYU offers several post-graduate research opportunities, including volunteer work, independent studies (for course credit), collaborations, dissertation research and visiting/postdoctoral fellowships.

 

High School Research Opportunities 

We are not accepting applications from high school students at this time. However, recent high school graduates who are enrolled to NYU in the forthcoming academic year are eligible to apply for a position in the lab (see Undergraduate Research Opportunities).