Future undergraduate students (e.g., Directed Studies, RAs)
For Fall 2026: Please note that positions are very limited at present.
Undergraduates have always been an integral part of the lab and its research. Currently, as for students interested in MASc level graduate studies with me, opportunities for undergraduates are related primarily to areas of community outreach projects (see this section of the website). Usually at minimum you must have eight to ten hours a week to devote to such a position (except during the weeks around midterms and final exams). Most undergraduates begin by volunteering for a term, beginning in their second or third year. From that experience, some undergraduates will graduate to paid positions or to pursuing an independent or applied directed studies or thesis project.
If you think you might be interested in participating as a project assistant in the lab, please email the following three pieces of information to me: (doneill@uwaterloo.ca). See note above for Fall 2026.
- a cover letter - tell me why you'd like to take on an research assistant position.
- an up-to-date resume.
- a copy of your transcript - a non-official copy by email is fine.
I will then contact you for an appointment if we have a position currently available. Even if I have no positions currently available, I will keep your name on file for when positions open up.
Future graduate students (Only MASc admissions for Fall 2026, No further MA/MASc/PhD admissions after Fall 2026 due to my retirement.)
After Fall 2026, please direct all MA, MASc, and PhD inquiries to my other Developmental area colleagues.
Interested graduate applicants can find more general information about graduate studies in our developmental area and in the Department at the following sites:
- School of Psychology,
- our one-year MASC in Developmental Communication Science, and
- our PhD program in Developmental Psychology.
A note about reference letters for students
Every year, I get requests for numerous reference letters. With many schools having different procedures, online forms etc. this can be a very time-consuming process for me. Therefore, to make things go as quickly and as smoothly as possible, students wishing a letter of reference(s) from me must provide the following:
- At least one months notice! Email me to find out if it will be possible for me to write you a letter of reference.
- If I agree, then provide me all the following materials as soon as possible. Putting them together in a zip folder is helpful if there are several large documents.
- A cover sheet stating clearly all the letters you need and WHEN you need them by. Also indicate if the letter needs to be done online and/or hardcopies to you or to someone else. You do not need to stamp envelopes. I can assume mailing costs through the department.
- An up-to-date resume
- A copy of your transcript. This does not need to be an official copy.
- If you have a statement of research interests, study interests etc. that might be helpful to me in writing your letter, include it. This is optional, however.
- A summary of your work/studies with me. If you have worked in my lab, or taken courses with me, please indicated the dates/terms you did so. If you worked in the lab, remind me of the projects you took part in. If you took a course with me, please remind me of your grade. With many students, it saves a huge amount of time for me to have to look up all these dates, outcomes etc. And in some cases, it is impossible, if I don't have access to the grade files easily anymore. You can include anything here you would like to remind me of that you'd like me to mention in a letter.
- If there are websites I need to go to, or online forms to fill out, then do email this information to me and indicate these in your cover sheet.
- If you don't need a letter of reference, but only need to use my name as a potential reference for the institution to contact, then please just email me to inquire about this.