Research

Getting into research might seem intimidating at first, but it’s actually more approachable than you think! A great first step is reaching out to professors whose work sounds interesting to you. Take a look at their lab website, skim their recent papers and submissions, and send a short, friendly email introducing yourself and sharing why you’d love to learn more. Be concise and share a little bit about your background in the field and your interest in their lab work.

Don’t worry if you don’t have tons of experience yet; most professors care more about curiosity and initiative. While cold-emailing might feel awkward at first, it’s how a lot of students get started. On top of that, ASU has amazing programs like the Fulton Undergraduate Research Initiative (FURI) and the Barrett Fellows Program, which give you mentorship and a structured way to dive into research and potentially publish papers. Between sending a few emails and applying to programs like these, you’ll be surprised how many doors open up for hands-on experience!

Keep an eye out for lab opportunities through your school emails and network with grad/PhD students in your target fields. Coffee chats are a great way to learn more about their research and identify key areas you want to explore further and help you broaden your persective and interests.

finding professors to work with

Start by browsing through ASU faculty pages and looking for professors whose research genuinely interests you and/or professors you have taken classes with and love their work
Pro tip: Look for professors who joined ASU recently (within the last 2-3 years). They’re actively building their labs and are more likely to have open spots
Check out ASU News, department newsletters, and research highlights to discover interesting work happening on campus
Don’t limit yourself to just CS faculty - interdisciplinary research is huge, so explore other departments too

cold-emailing professors

It’s a numbers game. Expect to send 25-30 emails to get 2-3 responses. Don’t take it personally when you get ghosted, they get a lot of emails too
Keep your emails short and sweet - professors are busy people who respect concise communication
Email structure that works:
- Brief intro (year, major, relevant coursework)
- Why their specific research interests you (mention a recent paper or project)
- What you’re hoping to learn/contribute
- Ask for a short meeting to discuss opportunities
For larger, established labs: Don’t just email the PI (Principal Investigator). Email PhD students and postdocs too - they’re often more responsive and can be a friendlier introduction into the lab
Time your emails - avoid Fridays, finals week and winter break

your first research meeting

Come prepared: Read 1-2 recent papers and skim 5-6 research abstracts from the lab, prepare thoughtful questions and understand the overall direction of the lab.
What TO bring up:
- Your academic background and relevant skills
- Specific aspects of their research that excite you
- Your time availability and commitment level
- Questions about the lab culture and expectations
What NOT to bring up:
- Asking about immediate publication opportunities (you’re not ready yet)
- Demanding guaranteed outcomes or credit
- Being vague about your interests (“I just want to do research”)
Be honest about your skill level - professors would rather teach you properly than deal with someone who oversells their abilities

starting research (freshman year reality check)

Bad news: Unfortunately, you can’t do FURI in your first semester and most labs don’t hire freshmen as paid researchers
Good news: Many professors are happy to have enthusiastic volunteers, especially if you’re willing to learn and support ongoing work at the lab
Your value as a freshman isn’t your skills (yet) - it’s your passion and willingness to show up:
- Be proactive and willing to learn, attend lab meetings, and ask questions
- Stay consistent and reliable, communicate early and often if you are facing any issues
- Bring a fresh perspective and curiosity to the topic of research
Don’t get discouraged if the work feels basic at first. Everyone starts by taking hours to read papers and do literature reviews. (Bonus Tip: there are several chrome extensions that can help you read papers faster and more efficiently, such as Alice)

building your research foundation

Math is everything: Be confident with Statistics and Linear Algebra if you’re doing ML/AI research. You will need the fundamentals at every stage.
Learn to read academic papers - it takes practice to comprehensively understand the problem and the solution. Start with survey papers, since they are not too technical and slowly work your way up to cutting-edge research.
Don’t pretend to know things you don’t - professors would rather teach you the right way than correct bad habits later
Version control (Git) and best practices for Python programming will save you a lot of pain
Soft skills matter: Learn to present your work clearly and concisely, write clean code, and document everything. When it comes to writing a paper, you will need to explain why you made the decisions you did, and what were the exact outcomes of every experiment you ran.

general research survival tips

Respect everyone’s time - show up prepared, meet deadlines, communicate proactively
Have fun with it - don’t get so stressed about impressing people that you forget why research is cool
Submit work early - academic deadlines are real deadlines. Conference submission deadlines don’t get extended for your convenience
Network actively - attend lab meetings (even other labs’), go to department talks, chat with grad students
Be grateful - professors mentoring undergrads are doing extra work. A simple “thank you” goes a long way
Explore broadly - ASU has research in everything from VR education to AI ethics to speech therapy. Don’t jump on the first opportunity you get

Quick Links

ASU Research Academy Faculty
SCAI Research Labs
Keep an eye out for FURI Proposal Templates and other funding opportunities.