Join us

The HPML lab is often looking for students who are interested in working on research projects like those in the lab. We are an interdisciplinary group, and welcome students from any academic background provided there is some alignment between student interests, experience, and lab projects.

We study research questions ranging from machine learning methods to educational theory, and value the many different experiences students bring to research. Prospective students should familiarize themselves with lab expectations. If you’re excited to do interdisciplinary research with a group of people from diverse backgrounds, please do consider joining the lab.

Prospective PhD students

PhD students typically contribute to ongoing lab projects as well as their own research projects developed during graduate school.

Prospective PhD students can join the lab by applying through one of several different PhD programs depending on interest. All students are expected to work on interdisciplinary projects, but programs have different areas of emphasis.

• Information Sciences (iSchool)
  • This program is appropriate for students interested in focusing on methods for data analysis (and data collection) in lab projects. Students typically have some technical experience with programming, statistics, and related topics.
• Department of Educational Psychology in the Cognitive Science of Teaching and Learning (CSTL) area
  • Students in this program typically focus on the educational theory aspects of lab projects. CSTL PhD students often have education-related bachelor’s or master’s degrees, but may also come from topic-related backgrounds (e.g., former physics students interested in cognitive aspects of physics education).
• Informatics in the Data Analytics and Information Visualization area
  • Informatics is a fast-paced, highly individualized program. Informatics is appropriate for independent students who want to work with the lab, but already have individual research ideas and plans.

Master’s students at UIUC

Master’s students in the Information Management and Library and Information Science MS programs sometimes participate in lab research. These are professional master’s degrees, rather than research degrees, so lab participation usually involves an independent study related to the student’s interest. Independent studies may include programming, data analysis, paper writing, or other activities.

Undergraduate students at UIUC

Undergraduate students in the lab typically assist PhD students and advanced master’s students involved in long-term projects. Undergraduates may assist in every stage of the research, from data collection to publishing results, depending on interest and experience.

Undergraduate research can be done via a few different programs:

• iSchool independent study (IS 189/389)
• Department of Educational Psychology independent study (EPSY 395)
• Informatics independent study (INFO 199/399)
• The National Center for Supercomputing SPIN program, which occasionally offers paid research positions

Undergraduate students can also apply for research funding to do research that has costs associated with it, like paying participants to complete a survey or try out a new user interface.