Prospective Lab Members

Undergraduate Students.

1.      Are you recruiting undergraduate students?

  • Yes, always!

2.      What should I do to apply?

  • Please email grabmanlab@gmail.com. Include your name, major, year in school, and a brief (2-3 sentence) description of why you are interested in joining the lab.  

  • After an interview, Dr. Grabman will grant you permission to participate in the lab for course credit. You may choose to participate for 1, 2, or 3 credits per semester. The expectation is that you will do 3 hours of work in the lab per week per credit hour. After receiving permission to join the lab, forward the email to your academic advisor.

  • Note that you are limited to 6-hours of course credit for lab participation over your undergraduate career. You may take on hours outside of this as a volunteer, or by doing an independent research study (Discovery Scholars’ Program).

Graduate Students.

 1.      Are you recruiting Graduate students?

 2.      What are you looking for in a Graduate student?

  • All faculty examine a combination of factors when deciding whether to admit a graduate student. I try to be transparent about the criteria that I value most highly, so that you can make an informed decision about whether applying is right for you.  In order of importance, I value:

  • Research experience (highest importance): Ideally, applicants have experience working in an experimental psychology lab. At a minimum you would have worked a semester or two as a lab research assistant. However, I will favor applicants who have taken on responsibilities that go beyond a typical undergraduate research assistant (e.g., as a full-time lab coordinator). I believe this is a good sign that you have thought carefully about pursuing a research career.

  • Research fit: In your application materials, please explain why your interests align well with the lab. Your interests don’t need to be a perfect match, and you don’t need to have experience in the exact topic area. However, your application should demonstrate that you have thought carefully about why GrabLab is the best fit for your research interests and long-term career goals.

  • Letters of Recommendation: Letters of recommendation are important because they speak to your ability to become a successful graduate student. Please choose your letter writers carefully, favoring individuals who know you in your capacity as a growing researcher. For example, I would look more favorably on a letter from a graduate student supervisor who has worked with you one-on-one than a letter from an eminent researcher who knows you only through academic coursework.

  • Academic Performance: I believe undergraduate GPA is an imperfect indicator of graduate school success for a few reasons: 1) institutions vary widely in grading practices, 2) courses/majors within institutions vary in difficulty, and 3) your practices/habits as an undergraduate may not correspond well with who you are now. However, if you struggled to keep up with your classes (e.g., GPA < 3.0), please be sure to provide a brief explanation.

  • Standardized Test Scores (Lowest importance): New Mexico State’s Psychology Department does not require standardized test scores, so I don’t consider them. Please note that I will take English proficiency into account, as this is my primary language of communication. If the language barrier is an issue for you, I would suggest potentially applying to a different lab.

 3.      Do you make the final decision about whether to admit students?

  • No. The NMSU Psychology Department admits students as a program. This means that every faculty member has a say in the admission process. While I have substantial sway in recruiting students to my lab, I don’t make the final decision.

 4.      What is your mentorship style?

  • I use an apprenticeship model, meaning that my goal is that you develop into an independent researcher by the end of your graduate school career. My approach is to be very hands-on, so you should expect to meet a minimum of once per week (and potentially even more frequently early in graduate school). As a new assistant professor, I have a strong incentive to publish original research. I will primarily focus on research directions that (I believe) have a good chance of leading to a journal publication, and will emphasize making consistent progress on these projects. At the same time, I believe skill development is important, and so I will expect you to meet the academic requirements of the NMSU psychology department (e.g., achieving milestones on time, keeping up with classes).