Research Experiences

Research is a great way of developing and learning new skills. It is an opportunity to acquire experiences that would not be possible to gain any other way. Participating in research allows you to learn about topics in a more complex and practical manner, which cannot be obtained simply from reading a book. These forms of experiences can come from working independently or from being part of a collaboration.

Being involved in research also allows you to develop professional relationships, and is a great way of obtaining mentoring. Your role is simply to acquire the most you can from your research opportunities. Working with faculty on their research not only benefits them, but also serves you well in developing your own research interests. It allows you to see what you are most interested in and how you can further develop these interests. Understanding how to successfully conduct research here at CSU Pueblo is a valuable and rewarding experience.

Most members of our faculty have active research programs. Each year, we present our findings at national and international meetings of learned societies and publish our work in scholarly journals. We are eager to involve majors in our research. It is a valuable opportunity to learn first-hand the technical skills of doing research in psychology, the methods of processing findings, and the style of preparing manuscripts and posters for publication and presentation.

A continuing goal of the department is to offer significant original research opportunities for declared majors and minors, working closely one-on-one or in small collaborative groups with members of the faculty.

Research experience can be obtained by taking a laboratory course in any of the areas of psychology. By taking a laboratory course, you'll learn about the steps needed to conduct a research study. This is a great way of obtaining research experience while also earning course credit.

Sometimes faculty do not have paid positions available, but welcome students who are willing to volunteer in their labs. Volunteering in a faculty's lab can help you become familiarized with different aspects of research (e.g., assisting in running experimental sessions, conference presentations, etc.). Most faculty members only require that you are motivated to learn from them, and assist them with different aspects of conducting the research they need to conduct.

Students can earn upper-division credits for participating in a Special Studies or Honors Thesis project with a member of the faculty. To do so, it is advisable to approach a faculty member early in your college career, take courses that will be valuable for completing your own project (e.g., Advanced Stats) and work with that faculty member in some ongoing research capacity.

All active faculty in the department have ongoing research programs. Each year, faculty presents new findings at national and international meetings of learned societies and publishes copiously in scholarly journals. We are eager to involve our majors in our research. It is a valuable opportunity to learn at first hand the technical skills of doing research in psychology, the methods of processing findings, and the style of preparing manuscripts and posters for publication and presentation. These positions are generally paid prevailing rates for student assistants.​

Many members of the department employ students to work with them throughout the summer on their research. Summer research typically involves the work students do as research assistants during the year or after completing an advanced research course. These opportunities frequently carry stipends and are advertised to all majors and minors.