Information for prospective students

Students interested in working in my lab should first visit the lab's webpage, and email me at rcrook@sfsu.edu for further information on space. Currently the lab is full and I have a wait list for both spring and summer of 2016, but places should be available in the Fall.

I accept undergraduates and Masters students only (no PhD students). Information about the different Biology Masters programs can be found here; students completing the Marine Biology or Physiology Master's programs may conduct research in my lab. Applications open in October and close in February for the following Fall semester. 

Undergraduate students may apply to conduct research in my lab by registering for Biol 699, by prior arrangment with me. Course credit is for one semester, but undergraduates should expect to spend at least two semesters in the lab (first semester as a volunteer). I give priority to Physiology majors in good academic standing, who have at least two semesters before graduation. Undergraduate students who do not fit this description may be admitted if there is space available. 

Typically undergraduate students are responsible for animal care, tank maintenance and general lab tasks. In their first semester they are paired with an experienced undergraduate or Masters student, and new students assist and contribute to established research projects. By the end of the first semester in the lab, each undergraduate can expect to take responsibility for their own experiment; this is typically one component of a larger research story.

Masters students are expected to contribute to animal care, tank maintenance and general lab tasks throughout their tenure in the lab. By the end of their first semester I expect Masters students to be ready to begin their independent research project. Masters projects should be original, relevant to the lab's research program, and be of sufficient scope to result in one or more primary research publications. Masters students are responsible for the conception, design and analysis of their project, and for the submission of a thesis describing their findings. Projects may be behavioral or neurophysiological, or a combination of both.