The Sophomore Research Program (SOREP) provides opportunities for students to work as paid research assistants to Wooster faculty members. Through this program students become true partners with faculty in the research process and acquire an understanding of the process involved in conducting research.
Timeline for Summer SRA Applications & Hiring
- Monday, February 3: Call sent to Faculty to complete SOREP Application Form
- Friday, February 14: Faculty Application Form submissions close
- Monday, February 17: Faculty Notified of Approvals
- February 18-28: Approved Faculty submit job descriptions to their AACs to be posted on Handshake
- Monday, March 3: Message will go to all eligible students to encourage applications (students will be directed to Handshake to apply)
- Ongoing: Faculty interview and select students and submit Student Employment Action Form (SEAF) to HR (Reach out to department AC for assistance with SEAFs)
- May 11-August 16: Summer Student Work period
Look for Current SRA Positions:
SRA positions will be posted on Handshake, the College’s new platform for all student employment.
Students
Students are eligible to participate in the program from the second semester of their first year through the first semester of their junior year. Sophomore Research Assistants (SRAs) generally work 3-7 hours per week for the semester and 20-40 hours per week during the summer. Students may also be eligible to earn course credit for work as a SRA, much like an internship. Please see below for a chart on credit equivalencies.
| Credit eligibility | Total hours | Hourly commitment |
| none | >45 hrs. | > ~3 hours/week for 10-12 weeks |
| 0.25 course credit | 45 hrs. | 4-5 hours/week for 10-12 weeks |
| 0.5 course credit | 75 hrs. | 7-8 hours/week for 10-12 weeks |
| 1.0 course credit | 140 hrs. | 12-14 hours/week for 10-12 weeks |
Additional benefits for participants in this program include:
- providing excellent preparation for future academic endeavors, such as Independent Study.
- orientation physical and digital resources through the College Library
- gaining technical skills through lab work and/or digital technologies
- enhancing critical thinking and writing skills
- building strong mentoring relationships with faculty members
Faculty
All full-time faculty members are eligible to apply for a Sophomore Research Assistant. SRA assignments are for one semester at a time, or for the summer (typically 35-40 hours/week), and you may reapply for future semesters.
The types of tasks an SRA can perform are varied, but might include:
- Performing a literature search and gather materials
- Lab assistance
- Conducting structured interviews
- Transcribing or editing interviews
- Coding and/or analyzing data for themes
- Fact-checking and assistance with proofreading a manuscript
- Formatting citations for an article
- Organizing a folder of PDFs into a library in Zotero
- Creating presentation slides and posters on faculty research (via PowerPoint or other programs)
- Assistance with setting up a WordPress professional website
Please contact Morgan Lee-Barton (x2576) or Dean Sarah Sobeck with any questions.