Undergraduate and Graduate Research Assistants

The Discovery Center employs a diverse, highly-skilled group of undergraduate and graduate students from a variety of majors each semester.

Quality Learning Opportunities

While at the Discovery Center, students are meaningfully immersed in a variety of research and evaluation activities. Students’ experiences include tasks that foster research skills (e.g., literature review; research design/methodology; IRB applications; grant proposal review and writing), as well as quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis skills (e.g., data entry, cleaning, and coding; transcription; and data display/visualization). In addition to gaining valuable research and evaluation skills, students also gain access to, and experience using data management, design, and statistical analyses software while at the Center.

Flexibility and Support

The Discovery Center offers flexible work schedules that provide students with time to complete their coursework and fulfill their academic responsibilities. As part of the onboarding process, Discovery Center staff discuss each student’s goals and expectations while at the Center, and provide the appropriate work space/environment, technical equipment, and training necessary to complete their work. Students who work at the Center have the opportunity to be, and many times are, employed across multiple semesters.

Becoming a Member of the Discovery Center Team

The Discovery Center values the support provided by its students, as their efforts add to the collective knowledge and strength of the Center’s Research and Evaluation Project Teams. Through student support, the Center is able accomplish its mission to provide high-quality products and excellence in service to its stakeholders and clients.

To inquire about or express interest in working as an undergraduate or graduate research assistant at the Discovery Center, please contact Sara Hayes via email sara.hayes@miamioh.edu or phone 513-529-1680.

Discovery Center Student Experiences

Discovery Center team leader Chris Cox and research assistant Katie Pauly

“The Discovery Center is a wonderful place for any student to work. The staff is supportive, the projects are interesting, and office environment is incredibly friendly. My experience here has been extremely positive, and I feel fortunate to have this opportunity.”

“Working at the Discovery Center has provided me with skills in research and statistics I wouldn't have otherwise. I also get to work with extremely smart and caring people on important and impactful projects. I am very thankful for my time working with the team at the Discovery Center.”

“The Discovery Center is full of people who not only like their job, but the people here are truly passionate about the problems that they are trying to solve. This passion comes through in the quality of the work and the evaluations that the Discovery Center completes. From working on background literature reviews to making recommendations as to where a proposal should focus, the student work here is meaningful and impactful, and it is exciting to get to be a part of this journey.”

“Working at the Discovery Center has been a wonderful experience; I felt at home right away! I am incredibly grateful for everyone's continuous support of my education and the time they have taken to teach me new skills.”