Students

Graduate Students:

Dr. Shutts will be considering graduate student applications for enrollment in the 2025-2026 academic year.

You can read more about applying to Dr. Shutts’ lab here.

You can read more about graduate study in the UW-Madison Department of Psychology here and here.

Undergraduate Students:

Thank you for your interest in joining the Social Kids Lab as an undergraduate research assistant! We study social cognitive development with a focus on the development of social categories and intergroup bias throughout infancy and childhood. Research assistants have the opportunity to run experiments, code and analyze data, recruit participants, and assist in study development. Interested students should be willing to commit to a minimum of two consecutive semesters in the lab (or one semester and a summer).

In the lab, some of the typical activities research assistants partake in include scheduling sessions, reading literature, discussing articles, and communicating with families. In addition to these experiences, research assistants attend lab meetings to discuss job and graduate school materials, receive feedback on final lab papers, and engage in professional development activities.

The Social Kids Lab works on several projects with the Prejudice and Intergroup Relations Lab. As such, both labs are currently operating as a joint lab for the purpose of hiring, training, and supporting undergraduate research assistants. 

We welcome all students with an interest in our research to apply. While some of our research assistants desire to pursue careers in developmental, clinical, or school psychology, many have gone on to social work, counseling, speech-language pathology, and more! Overall, we seek students who are excited to collaborate on projects, interact with children and their families, and be actively involved in the research process.

If you would like to learn more about research in psychology, build skills for different areas and careers, and meaningfully contribute to science, click here to apply for a research assistant position on our joint SKL/PIRL team!

*Applications for Fall 2024 are closed. You can apply now for consideration for Spring 2025.