# So you want to join the lab? ### First off, that's wonderful news! We're always looking for motivated individuals with new ideas who can help drive the science we do forward! That said, graduate school isn't for everyone - before you reach out to Dr. Anderson ask yourself ***why*** you want to go to graduate school. Any answers that involve status, money, (even regrettably love of teaching) are not great ones. A Ph.D. is first and foremost a ***research*** degree, and you, as a graduate student will receive training on how to be a researcher. As you progress through this training, you will do more independent research (and hopefully collaborative research) and writing. ### **So much writing.** (see the section on writing [here][1]) Academia measures output in papers produced, so as part of your training, you will be asked to write about the research you have done. This means reading the works of other scholars carefully, synthesizing their arguments, looking for holes or areas where you can expand the research. As a member of the CANAL lab, I will provide you with the opportunity to publish your research as *preprints* and as fully peer reviewed papers and will support your efforts to get your work published. This will help your CV, my CV, and the lab (our funding depends on the overall productivity of the lab). This is **extremely different** from what you did as an undergraduate - though if you did an undergraduate thesis, all of graduate school is like that. If you loved your undergraduate thesis and the process of doing that - fantastic, keep reading below :). If not, now might be the time to think about other exciting things you could do now that you have your undergraduate degree. --- ## Still here? Great! If you're pretty sure you want to do a graduate degree with the CANAL lab - you'll need to collect a few things to send to Dr. Anderson. 1. Your CV (should include references Dr. Anderson can contact) 2. Any publications you've been a co-author on (please attach the PDFs for the most relevant ones). 3. An informal transcript from your last degree 4. A cover letter (note this could be in the body of the email) **Note - you will likely be asked for a writing sample** (unless you have extensive prior publications). Dr. Anderson will normally ask you to write a 1.5 page response to one of the lab papers. *The cover letter should give a brief introduction of who you are, what you've accomplished, and why you want to work in the CANAL lab. Highlighting specific overlaps between your research interests and what the lab does is recommended. Proposing a few projects/ideas for things you could work on is also appreciated.* ---------- ## The Interview Process We use a standard set of questions (e.g., a structured interview) which we score with a rubric. The interview questions are designed to assess how you might perform in typical lab settings. --- If, you've run the gamut of the questions, spoken to some current members and everyone thinks this could work - we'll ask you to lead an informal lab discussion of a paper (it could be your paper, or it could be a paper on a topic you're excited about). [1]: https://osf.io/fm58g/wiki/09.%20On%20Writing/