Summer Fellowship Position @ Rutgers-Newark, NJ

The Psychology Department at Rutgers—Newark is currently accepting applications for a 1-year, NSF-funded internship, Directed by Dr. Vanessa LoBue, for undergraduate Psychology majors from underrepresented backgrounds. Fellows will be assigned to participating labs to work one-on-one with faculty members on projects relevant to the impact of socio-emotional context on social and cognitive functioning. The projects span a range of subdisciplines within Psychology (social, developmental, cognitive, neuroscience) and methodological approaches (e.g., behavioral, fMRI, computational, self-report) to provide a broad, yet intensive research experience.

The 1-year fellowship program will have three main components—professional development, rigorous hands-on research training, and community engagement. To foster career professional development and enhance their research skills, fellows will take part in a weekly, one-hour, one-credit research seminar during the 2025-2026 academic year. The one credit seminar will be offered remotely, paid for by the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers-Newark and will come at no cost to fellows. As part of this seminar, fellows will be able to connect with their summer lab right away and participate virtually or in person in lab meetings and other events to maximize the productivity of their summer fellowship. To gain hands-on research training, fellows will work in person, full-time in a Rutgers-Newark lab in the Psychology Department for the duration of the summer of 2026, for which they will receive a $6,000 stipend. Finally, fellows will receive training in community engagement so that they can learn how to recruit a diverse and representative sample of human subjects for their own research, and how to disseminate their findings directly to those community members. 

 Eligibility:

Rising sophomore or junior students enrolled in any 2- or 4-year undergraduate program in the United States and belonging to any NSF-recognized underrepresented minority (i.e., persons with disabilities, and three racial and ethnic groups—Black, Hispanic, and American Indian or Alaska Native) and/or NIH-recognized economically-disadvantaged group are eligible to apply. Students need not be Psychology majors to be eligible, but some preference will be given to students interested in long-term careers in Psychology. Note: that students supported by this program must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States. 

Applications are due on April 4, 2025. The 1-credit course will begin in September 2025, culminating in full time summer work in June of 2026. Applications will be evaluated on the following criteria:

1. Academic performance. Applicants should submit a copy of their transcripts, including current GPA. 
2. Interest in research. Applicants should submit a 1- to 2-page (double spaced) cover letter, briefly describing their career goals and their reasons for applying to this program. Previous research experience is not required, so the applicant’s personal statement will be used to evaluate their interest in research in psychology, along with their motivation to gain research experience for a future career. Please include contact information, including full name, email address, and phone number in the cover letter.  
3. Letter of recommendation: Students are required to provide one letter of recommendation from a faculty member at their home institution. Recommenders should speak to the fellow’s interest in and commitment to a career in STEM. 
4. Commitment to diversity and inclusion: All applicants are required to submit a brief (1-2 paragraph) statement describing their commitment to diversity and inclusion in STEM disciplines. The department will evaluate these statements based on how the applicant plans to contribute to the diversity of STEM through the fellowship and beyond. 

Applicants should submit all materials to Rosalina Cerda-Lopez via email (rc958@psychology.rutgers.edu) by April 4, 2025, 11:59PM EST. Letters of recommendation should be sent directly from the recommender to Ms. Cerda-Lopez (applicants should not submit these themselves).