Joining the Lab

The SoCal Lab is committed to providing a welcoming and respectful environment for all its members.  It is our goal to promote diversity and inclusion in the fields of psychology and cognitive neuroscience, both because we believe the pursuit of new knowledge is an activity that should be equally available to all and because we believe diverse teams of scientists produce better, more creative, and more impactful research.

Joining as a Research Assistant 

Research Assistants are a key part of the SoCal Lab team! Their duties consist of making videos or other displays for new studies, collecting behavioral and neuroimaging data, data coding and entry, literature searches, and more.  They are also encouraged to attend weekly lab meetings to learn more about developmental psychology and how research works.

If you are a UCSD undergraduate student looking to gain some research experience or are interested in our research and looking to be involved, please fill out the UCSD Psychology RA Common Application (available here a month or so before each academic quarter) and mark Dr. Powell as one of the PIs you are most interested in working with. Applicants selected for interviews will be contacted shortly after the application deadline before each new quarter.  If you are interested in research assistant opportunities in the lab but are not a UCSD undergraduate, or have any other questions, please reach out to the lab coordinator via email.

Joining as a Graduate Student

Dr. Powell is considering applications this cycle (Fall 2023) to join the lab as a PhD student in Fall 2024.  You can learn more about the PhD program in Psychology at UCSD and how to apply here.  If you take a look at our lab's research questions and methods and think they would be a good fit for your interests, then you can list Dr. Powell as a potential advisor on your application.  There is no need to reach out in advance of applying, though you're welcome to email Dr. Powell, and she will do her best to get back to you.

(For help navigating the financial side of grad applications and reducing the cost as much as possible, see current SoCal Lab grad student Alexis Smith-Flores's guide here.  Instructions for requesting an application fee waiver from UCSD can be found here.)