Join Us

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Join our Research Team

Are you interested in the areas of health disparities, identity development, or culture? If so, then CCHI Lab may be the right research space for you!

Those that work in the CCHI lab know that it involves much more than "volunteering". Everyone plays an active role on the research team. Team members contribute to all aspects of the research process including assisting with IRB application preparations, conducting experiments, interviewing, interview transcription, data coding and analysis, SPSS data entry, and developing research presentations and publications.

Those interested in joining the CCHI Research Lab as a Graduate Student should contact Dr. Dionne Stephens directly prior to applying. Dr. Stephens primarily serves as an advisor to doctoral students in the Developmental Psychology program. However, she serves on dissertation committees across disciplines, and several students from other departments have conducted their research studies in collaboration with the CCHI Lab. You can find more information about this on her Mentoring page linked below.
Graduate Student Mentoring

Undergraduate Students' Eligibility Requirements

The CCHI accepts a limited number of undergraduate research assistants each semester. Acceptance into the lab is determined by the application content, CCHI lab space at the time of application, and the quality of the interview. After one semester of volunteering, students can register to take Independent Research course credits for their lab work, or begin working on an Honors Thesis Project (required for graduating with Honors in Psychology).

New CCHI undergraduate research assistants will undergo an orientation, attend seminars on research design and methodology and work directly on CCHI lab studies. Clearly, working in the CCHI lab involves much more than "volunteering"- you'll be an active part of a research team, and working on all aspects of the research process. As members of the CCHI research team are given significant levels of responsibility, volunteer research assistants must meet the following requirements for acceptance:

  • Currently have a GPA of 3.0 or higher; lower GPAs accepted on a case by case basis
  • Commit to working in the CCHI lab for a minimum of two semesters
  • Ability to contribute 8 hours a week during regular business hours to lab research.
  • Preference is given to applicants that are not working in other research labs

Apply

Undergraduate students interested in joining the CCHI Lab must complete this online application. To complete this survey you will need your current major and cumulative GPA , a schedule of your availability for the semester you hope to join us. In addition, you will be asked about your research experience, career goals and reasons why you want to join the CCHI lab.

Online CCHI Lab Application

After Completing the Application

Once we have received your application, you will be contacted within two weeks to schedule a meeting with Dr. Stephens. During this period, applicants are encouraged to complete their CITI Human Subjects Certification.

CITI PROGRAM: Required Human Subjects Certification

Federal regulations require that anyone directly involved in a research study undergo training to improve research subject safety. Student investigators, faculty, research staff and other key personnel involved in research are required to complete the "Social & Behavioral Research Investigators Course". All  CCHI Research Team members must complete this course prior to working in the lab. The Collaborative IRB Training Initiative Program (CITI Program) training website provides you with access to this online training.



You will have the opportunity to print/ download a Training Certificate Completion Report upon completion of the training course and exam. Please save a copy of this report for your records. Additionally, a copy MUST BE KEPT in each CCHI Research Assistant's Dropbox folder throughout their time working in the CCHI Research Lab. Please contact Dr. Stephens or any of the Graduate Student Research Supervisors if you have any questions.

CITI Online Training

CITI Program Enrollment

Please follow the directions below to sign up for an account on the CITI website:

  • As a “new” user, you will need to click “Register”.
  • Select “Florida International University” from the Participating Institutions, then fill out he required fields
  • Select “Human Subjects Research” from the CITI Enrollment web page
  • Select the “Social & Behavioral Human Research Investigators Course”.
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