PODER
The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) at California State University Northridge (CSUN) is seeking motivated undergraduate students to join the PODER program as research assistants. “Poder” is “power” in Spanish, which is what joining PODER will do! Students will engage in faculty-mentored research in their respective or related disciplines, with the goal of developing research skills and contributing to ongoing projects. Projects will differ by department and by mentors.
What is PODER?
PODER is CSUN’s first ever paid employment program. Students get the opportunity to work in a faculty-mentored research or creative scholarship. PODER allows undergraduate students to learn important skills in their respective disciplines in preparation for graduate studies or careers. You don’t have to navigate academia by yourself. Join OUR community of scholars! PODER is currently funded through two sources:
- Federal Work-Study (FWS)
- The Office of Undergraduate Research
Previous funding in 2024-2025 was provided by: NSF IUSE ESTUDIO grant (Award # 2225248)
Eligibility
To be eligible, students must:
- be enrolled full-time (12+ units) at CSUN
- be sophomores, juniors, or seniors during the employment period
- work eligible.
- a minimum GPA of 2.5 or higher in their major
Additional eligibility criteria for Federal Work-Study (FWS):
- have completed a FAFSA, and demonstrate financial need as defined by CSUN’s Financial Aid & Scholarship Department, and be eligible for FWS
Please note: To be in the PODER program, you must have a faculty research mentor to conduct research with. We have mentors listed here on OUR website that are accepting students, but unfortunately, we don't facilitate a matching process on your behalf. We would recommend that you reach out to mentors you would like to work with from our mentor pool and ask if you could apply to join their research lab. Please let them know that you are interested in applying to a PODER position through the Office of Undergraduate Research. If you would like to work with a CSUN faculty mentor who is not listed, they are more than welcome to apply to join our mentor pool. They can email us at our@csun.edu so we can send them the application.
We also offer workshops that can help you get prepared as you're starting out in research here at CSUN. You can find our workshop calendar here, please be sure to register for the topics you are interested in, workshops are offered in-person or on Zoom, so please be sure to pay attention when registering.
https://www.csun.edu/our/initiatives-services/estudio/workshops
Expectations
- Each semester, students will work with a faculty mentor up to 11 hours per week (total 165 hours)
- Students will present or co-present at CSUN’s annual research symposia, CSUNPosium (in April)
- Students are required to attend four (4) OUR workshops each semester
- Students can earn digital stamps and research certificates!
- All students will complete a survey at the beginning and end of each semester so we can track your skills as you are developing throughout your journey in research.
Benefits
- Pay: $17.50/hour for up to 165 hours/semester of mentor-led research
- 4 additional paid hours to attend OUR workshops
- 2 paid hours to complete surveys