CHRI (Cultural Heritage and Racial Identity Lab) offers a range of opportunities for persons interested in working with the lab:
U of I Undergraduate Research Assistants
CHRI offers two programs for undergraduate students interested in gaining research competencies related to the inquiry domains of the lab. The PSYC 290 and PSYC 494 programs afford undergraduate students the opportunity to gain skills and knowledge that will help them whether they plan to go to graduate school or embark on other career trajectories. In addition to the skills and knowledge gained through these programs, students receive academic credit for their involvement in the lab. The main difference between the two programs is that the PSYC 490 program offers the added opportunity to conduct an independent project based one one’s work in the lab and is usually completed by upper-level classmen who have already been through the PSYC 290 Program.
The goals of both programs are to (a) provide a conceptual and empirical overview of psychological phenomena related to race, ethnicity, and culture, (b) facilitate members’ understanding and competencies in key areas of research design and methods (e.g., conducting literature reviews, data collection, data entry and data analysis, and (c) promote critical-thinking and scientific-writing skills.
Past undergraduates involved in the lab have achieved competencies in the domains of:
Data collection
Data entry
Data transcription
Quantitative and Qualitative analyses
Conducting literature searches
Writing Literature reviews and annotated bibliographies
Database management
McNair and SROP Scholars
McNair and SROP scholars are undergraduate students, not necessarily enrolled at U of I, who are research assistants with the CHRI lab. In addition to the competencies listed above, SROP and McNair research assistants gain experience conducting and independent project under the supervision of Dr. Hunter. Each institution of higher learning typically has their own McNair, SROP, or related programs. To learn more about McNair and SROP at U of I visit the links below.
Additional information about the McNair program at U of I may be obtained here: Ronald McNair Program
Additional information about SROP program at U of I may be obtained here: Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP)
Graduate Students
The graduate students involved in research with CHRI are typically doctoral students in the Clinical-Community Psychology program in the Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Prospective students interested in working with Dr. Hunter and CHRI should contact Dr. Hunter directly. In addition, all current graduate members of the lab are open to talking to prospective undergraduate and graduate students about the Clinical-Community Psychology program at University of Illinois as well as the lab: we invite you to email us. If you are interested in applying to the Clinical-Community doctoral program do visit Clinical-Community Program to learn more about the faculty, current students, and our programs of research.