How Do College Freshmen Get a First Research Position?

This post is for students already enrolled in college. If you are still in high school, start with our guide to how to do research in high school. Universities describe the first-year path in similar terms, and the pages below are theirs, not a forum’s.

Can a first-year student get a research position?

Yes, and several universities say so directly. The University of Central Arkansas states that prior research experience is not necessary and that faculty look for students who are energetic, reliable and capable and who want to do research.^[2] The University of Washington likewise says no prior experience is needed, that interest is enough, and that most programs train students from the start.^[3] Some campuses go further and build programs for newcomers. Virginia Tech’s First-Year Fralin Undergraduate Research Fellowship is open only to first-year students with no prior research experience, and its projects are meant to be entry-level.^[1]

None of this means every lab has room or that a search will succeed. It means a lack of experience is not what schools describe as the barrier. What they describe is fit, reliability and a real interest in the work.

Where do first-year students look for a position?

Start with the sources your own campus controls, then widen the search. The table below lists the routes the pages above describe.

Route	What the source says
Academic advisor	Can help clarify your interests, explain time commitments and suggest faculty mentors^[2]
Undergraduate research office	MIT’s office suggests talking with faculty, advisors, coordinators and graduate students, reviewing listings, and checking department and lab websites^[4]
Research database or lab websites	Washington suggests checking its research database, and searching a topic plus the campus name to find labs that are not advertised^[3]
First-year programs	Virginia Tech matches first-year students with a faculty mentor through an application^[1]
Summer programs funded by NSF	Each REU site runs its own application, and students do not apply to NSF^[5]

Whether a given summer REU site accepts students who have only finished their first year differs by site, so read each site’s eligibility rules.

How do you approach a lab or a professor?

Read first, then write. Review the research pages for your department, pick a few faculty whose work you can describe in a sentence, and contact several of them. Washington suggests an introductory email that explains why you are interested in the work and how it fits your goals, with your resume or CV and a suggested meeting time.^[3] Central Arkansas suggests office hours or an appointment and advises being honest about your motivation.^[2]

A short checklist:

Read two or three of the lab’s recent papers or project pages.
Write a short email you could read on a phone, in your campus account, stating your year and your interest in their work.
Attach prior experience only if you have it, since a Johns Hopkins student newspaper account says it is not required.^[6]
Ask for a short meeting, not a position.
Send versions to several labs, each written for that lab.

Our cold email template for professors has wording you can adapt.

When should a first-year student start looking?

Sooner is the general advice, but programs have their own calendars. Washington says there is no single right time and recommends reaching out “sooner rather than later” so you have time to learn whether you enjoy research.^[3] Central Arkansas says research can start as early as freshman year.^[2]

Formal first-year programs can have fall deadlines. Virginia Tech’s fellowship application closes on November 1 for the spring semester that follows, with students applying in their first fall.^[1] MIT lists a special direct-funding deadline for first-time first-years and transfers for the January term of 12.01.2026.^[4] These dates change each year, so confirm the current ones on your own campus page in your first weeks, not after the term is over.

A student post on Arcadia University’s site describes contacting several professors in the summer after the first year, when a student has more time for a project than during the semester, and suggests asking a full lab about the following summer.^[7]

What should you expect once you have a position?

Expect a regular time commitment and a conversation about terms. Washington says STEM mentors often expect about 9 to 12 hours per week, with roughly 3 hours of training at the start, and often ask for a commitment of at least one year.^[3] Virginia Tech’s first-year fellowship asks for about 5 hours per week.^[1]

Ask early whether the role is volunteer, for credit or paid. A Johns Hopkins student newspaper account from 2019 advises discussing expectations such as a paper or presentation, weekly hours, and whether the role is volunteer, for credit or paid, and notes that many students volunteer first and later receive credit.^[6] Practices differ by school and change, so confirm yours. Tell your mentor in advance when exams make your usual hours hard to keep.^[3]

What if nobody replies?

Follow up, widen the list and ask for a smaller first step. The Johns Hopkins account suggests following up if you have not heard back in three to four days, and says up to three or four follow-ups is reasonable. If a professor declines or does not reply, it suggests asking whether they know colleagues working in similar areas.^[6] Our post on what to do when a professor did not reply to your research email goes through this in more detail.

If a lab is full, the Arcadia post suggests asking about a later summer and, in the meantime, volunteering or taking classes before trying again.^[7] Your advisor or research office can also point to other labs. For the steps that apply in any lab, see how to get a lab position as a student, and for the mentoring side, how to find a research mentor.

What do we not know?

Each university runs research differently, so the pages above describe their own campuses and not a standard process. Deadlines, stipends, credit rules and eligibility for first-year students change between years and between summer sites. Two of the sources are student accounts, one older, and describe what worked for those students, not what will work for you. No source here shows that starting research as a first-year student leads to any later result.

What should you do next?

This week, email your advisor and find your campus undergraduate research office, then shortlist a few faculty to contact. If you are still in high school and want an outside view of your profile, the free review on ivy-league.io lets high school students submit a profile for verified current students to look over.