Are you interested in potentially joining the Suicide & Trauma Research Collaborative (STRC)?
WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR
STRC recruits undergraduate and graduate Research Assistants, as well as Research Associates, who may include experienced post-baccalaureate students, alumni, community partners, and other research collaborators. We are looking for people who are interested in improving the lives of individuals and communities affected by trauma and suicide while learning how to conduct rigorous, ethical, and meaningful scientific research.
Most new members are recruited during the first six weeks of the Fall semester and the last six weeks of the Spring semester, although exceptional applicants may be considered at other times depending on current projects and laboratory capacity.
For Fall 2026, we are primarily recruiting college sophomores and juniors with anticipated graduation dates of Spring 2028 or later.
We generally require undergraduate applicants to have at least two academic years remaining before graduation. There are practical reasons for this. Many of our projects are longitudinal, and meaningful research training takes time. We want students to have opportunities to participate in multiple stages of the research process, rather than joining long enough to see only a small portion of a project.
This timeline is particularly important for students preparing for doctoral programs. Most PhD applications are submitted between October and December, while many opportunities to present research occur during the following spring. A student who joins STRC immediately before applying to graduate school simply will not have enough time to develop the experiences that would make participation in the lab meaningful to their application.
For this reason, we generally consider college seniors only when they plan to remain actively involved with STRC after graduation as a post-baccalaureate or alumni Research Associate.
APPLYING TO STRC
If what you have read above sounds like the kind of experience you are looking for, we encourage you to apply.
STRC intentionally remains a relatively small research collaborative. Our goal is not to involve as many students as possible. Our goal is to provide meaningful and extremely robust research and clinical experiences, substantial responsibility, and close mentorship to the students we accept. Because our mentorship capacity is limited, admission to STRC is selective, and we are unable to offer positions to every qualified applicant.
That should not discourage you from applying.
We do not expect applicants to arrive as experienced researchers. Research skills can be taught. We are especially interested in applicants who demonstrate curiosity, reliability, intellectual engagement, willingness to learn, and a genuine interest in contributing to the work of the collaborative.
To apply, email strc@uvu.edu and include the following:
1. Introduce yourself.
In the body of your email, tell us who you are and where you hope to go professionally. Please include your major, anticipated graduation date, whether you have completed statistics and/or research methods, your career goals, the graduate degrees or programs you are considering, and any previous research or clinical experience. The more context you provide, the better we can understand your goals and readiness for the lab.
2. Tell us why STRC, and let us get to know you.
Spend several paragraphs explaining why you are interested in joining STRC. What interests you about our work? What are you hoping to learn or accomplish? What would you bring to the collaborative, and how do you believe STRC could contribute to your development?
Don’t skimp on this section. We really do want to know who you are. And please don’t simply tell us what you think we want to hear. One of our goals in reviewing applications is to determine whether STRC is genuinely a good fit for your interests, goals, and professional development. Sometimes that means inviting someone to join our team. Other times, it may mean helping a student identify another faculty mentor, research lab, or opportunity that is a better match for what they want to accomplish.
We can do that much better when you are candid about who you are, what interests you, and where you hope to go. There is no single “right” set of interests or career goals that you need to present to us.
3. Unofficial college transcripts.
4. Your CV or résumé.
If you already have a CV, please send it. If you do not, a résumé is perfectly acceptable. And if you are planning for graduate school, now is an excellent time to start building a CV.
5. Two writing samples.
Please provide two examples of your academic writing. When possible, at least one should be from a psychology course and should demonstrate your ability to write in APA style.
We want these samples because we want to see how you write. Please send us papers that reflect your own writing, thinking, organization, and ability to communicate ideas. We would much rather read a paper that is authentically yours, even if it isn’t perfect, than a polished paper substantially written or rewritten by generative AI. Send us your best work, not the best work AI can produce for you.
What Happens After You Apply?
Submitting an application does not automatically result in an interview or an invitation to join STRC.
After we receive your complete application materials, they are reviewed by members of the STRC Applications Committee. The committee considers your academic preparation, research and professional interests, goals, writing, readiness for research, potential contribution to the collaborative, and fit with our current projects and available mentorship.
Highly qualified applicants whose interests and goals appear to align well with STRC will be invited to interview. The interview gives us an opportunity to learn considerably more about you, but it is also an opportunity for you to learn more about us. We want prospective Research Assistants to understand what working in STRC is actually like and to decide whether the commitment, expectations, people, and research are a good fit for them.
Following interviews, the Applications Committee and STRC leadership determine which applicants will be invited to join the collaborative. Because we intentionally keep STRC small enough to provide meaningful mentorship and substantive research experiences, the number of available positions may vary from semester to semester, and an interview does not guarantee an invitation to join the lab.
Applicants who are not selected should not necessarily interpret that decision as a judgment that they are unqualified for research. Fit matters. Timing matters. Our current projects and mentorship capacity matter. When we know enough about an applicant’s interests and goals, we may also be able to recommend other faculty members, research groups, or opportunities that would be a stronger match.
One Last Thing
Please do not interpret our selectivity as a signal that you need an extraordinary résumé before applying. Some of our strongest Research Assistants began with relatively little research experience.
We are selective because good mentorship takes time (our time, your time), and we would rather work closely with a small number of students than provide water down the interactions and relationship with a larger group.
If you are genuinely interested in trauma or suicide research, are willing to make the commitment described above, and want to become an active member of a research team, we want to hear from you.
We love the work we do, and we love doing it alongside students and collaborators who are excited to learn, contribute, and grow with us. We look forward to reading your application.
