Department of Kinesiology

Opportunities

Do you want to learn more about the role of the built environment or physical activity in health promotion and disease management, gain valuable research experience, and bolster your resume for grad school or job applications? The PARCS Lab has a number of exciting learning opportunities for students at all stages of their educational journey (undergraduate, Master’s, doctoral).

Students can work with the PARCS Lab in a number of different ways. These include:

  • Volunteer internships (about 3-10 hours per week)
  • OURCI Research opportunities
  • Undergraduate and graduate independent study and practicum (up to 10 hours per week)
  • Grant funded research positions

What can you help us with?

  • Review the literature (e.g. help us formulate and frame innovative and relevant research questions to explore)
  • Collect study data (e.g., environmental audits, GIS shape files, accelerometers, surveys, etc.)
  • Data entry and cleaning (e.g., surveys, census data, BMI data)
  • Coordinating and leading workshops or trainings with partners, agencies, or community members
  • Analyze data (e.g. use data to help answer research questions that can improve public health (e.g., what is the relationship between having quality parks and childhood obesity; what are the key elements of neighborhoods that promote physical activity and healthy eating; how does technology enhance community engagement in building healthy communities, etc.)
  • Prepare reports, abstracts, manuscripts, and presentations for both academic and professional conferences and publications
  • Build partnerships and working with neighborhoods and communities to improve health

What can we do for you?

  • Develop skills that will be useful for both practical and research applications
  • Learn software and data management skills related to data entry, processing, and analysis (e.g., GIS, SPSS, nVivo)
  • Develop connections and collaborations with local and state organizations
  • Present your research at local, state, and national conferences
  • Earn recommendation letters for graduate school and job applications
  • Work with and learn from a fabulous group of undergraduate and graduate students and academics!

To find out more about some of the PARCS Lab’s current projects, please visit our Current Research page. We are always submitting new grant proposals and looking for new ideas, so we would also love to hear about your thoughts and interests.

If joining the PARCS Lab sounds like a great fit for you, please contact any member of our team. Make sure to let us know where you are in school (i.e., grade level, program), the type of experience (i.e., volunteer, independent study, practicum, Capstone) you are interested in, any prior research experience you have, and what skills or experiences you are looking for.

Thanks again for your interest in the PARCS Lab. We look forward to meeting you soon!