The SNL is always seeking highly motivated undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows who are interested in comparative cognition and behaviour, animal communication, auditory perception, and neuroethology, to conduct research projects.
Underrepresented groups, including women, people with disabilities, Indigenous peoples, people of colour, and LGBTQIA2S+ individuals are encouraged to apply. Please read our SNL Code of Conduct and EDI pages.
Undergraduates
Please refer to the PDF file:
Research Courses
At the undergraduate level there are several opportunities. There are several research courses you can take, including PSYCO 299, 396, 398, 496, 498, and Honours. PSYCH 299 students either conduct reading projects or assist other more advanced students with ongoing projects, will receive animal ethics training and specific hands on training to conduct this work, and will work about 3 days a week. PSYCH 396/496 and PSYCH 398/498 students conduct research for two terms, will receive animal ethics training and specific hands on training to conduct this work, and will work about 4 days a week.
Interested potential undergraduate researchers can click on this link and complete the intake forms.
Honours
Honours students work in the lab for two years. During the first year, they receive ethics and hands on training and develop their thesis proposal. During the second year, Honours students conduct and present their Honours research. Honours students can expect to work up to 5 or more days per week in the lab, including some weekend days.
Undergraduate Funding Opportunities
Undergraduate students may apply for an NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA). This award, along with a supplement from their research supervisor, provides students with approximately $2,000 per month for four months, from May through August. Undergraduate student can also apply for an URI Undergraduate Researcher Stipend. This award provides the student with a $5,000 for four months, from May through August. There are many other funding opportunities for undergraduates listed here.
Graduates
The SNL is not currently accepting new graduate students for the 2025 application year.
I work hard to ensure that my graduate students have all the necessary resources at their disposal to complete their research and enhance their graduate training experience. My laboratory has recently undergone a complete update to my operant conditioning setup, and continues to maintain excellent facilities for investigating all aspects of brain, behaviour, and cognition in songbirds. Moreover, my graduate students routinely attend local, national, and international conferences to disseminate their research findings as well as to network and establish contacts with like-minded scientists from other institutions. Importantly, my students and I publish their research in top journals, with many of my graduate students finishing with several publications from their time in my laboratory and move onto successful careers after finishing their time in my laboratory. See “SNL Alumni” section of “Lab Members Page“.
I DO NOT REQUIRE APPLICANTS WANTING TO WORK WITH ME TO HAVE WRITTEN, OR TO WRITE, THE GRE!
Graduate students may apply for NSERC post-graduate scholarships; these awards fund graduate students for two or three years at approximately $17,500-$50,000 per year. Graduate students may want to peruse the many awards listed on the FGSR website. These are of various valuations and for various durations.
Post-Doctoral Fellows
Interested potential postdoctoral researchers can click on this link and complete the intake forms.
Postdoctoral researchers can apply for an NSERC postdoctoral fellowship (PDF) valued at $50,000 per year for two years or a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship valued at $70,000 per year for two years. Please follow this link to find information regarding applying for a Banting PDF to work at the University of Alberta. Follow this link for complete listing of postdoctoral opportunities from NSERC. Postdoctoral researchers may also apply for either a Notely or Killam Postdoctoral Fellowship. These awards are worth $50,000 per year in salary for two years and come with a one-time award of $4,000 to be used for research and conference expenses. Please follow this link for a complete listing of funding and fellowship opportunities.