Get paid: Research opportunities and on-campus jobs

From university research studies to��part-time jobs, there are plenty of opportunities to make extra money on campus. See what's open.

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Paid and volunteer��research opportunities are also posted on the�� as they become available.��Student Employment posts on- and off-campus and work-study jobs��and a weekly email list for subsribers.

Students only

Study on belonging, identity, sexual harm

If you're 18 or older and a first-year undergraduate student at CU Boulder from an underrepresented race or ethnicity on our campus, or someone who identifies with an LGBTQQ2SIA+ identity, the GIST Lab invites you to participate in a study on the intersections of belonging, identity and sexual harm on campus.

This is a paid research study, and participation involves completion of four assessments across the course of your first semester.��

Questions? Please contact ourcampus@colorado.edu for more information.

For business undergrads: Study on generative AI use

Researchers are seeking current CU Boulder undergraduate students enrolled in the Leeds School of Business who are 18 years and older and proficient in speaking English. Participants cannot be international students.

You will participate in an entirely voluntary and confidential 30- to 45-minute audio recorded interview.

The purpose of this research study is to investigate student experiences with and perceptions of generative AI tools in research and information-seeking (IRB protocol #25-0419)

Participants will receive a $25 Amazon gift card. To participate, please , and one of the investigators will contact you. Contact��
emily.dommermuth@colorado.edu with questions.

Part-time jobs

Work in Student Affairs

Working on campus is a great way for students to gain professional experience and discover new passions. Through your student job, you may learn that you enjoy working one-on-one with others or that your natural strengths work well for certain roles (like event planning or mentorship). Whatever department you work in, your student job can help you explore career paths, build your resume and shape your future. .

Work in Campus Dining Services

Campus Dining Services offers students the chance to learn and build skills for success at CU and beyond. Our students work in a diverse, inclusive and fun space, and there are jobs that work with your schedule. There are also personal and professional development opportunities to develop skills like teamwork, communication, leadership and more.

Flexible hours and convenient locations
Competitive pay rates (starting at $16/hour)
Work-study opportunities for eligible students
Leadership and advancement opportunities
Make new friends while building community
Work in diverse and inclusive environments

Studies for adults

Study on mood, bipolar disorder in young adults

Join the Young Emerging Adult Research Study (YEARS) study at CU Boulder and CU Anschutz (IRB# 23-2067) to understand emotions. Earn $25 per hour (up to approximately $400 total) for up to three study session phases (one hour and 45 minutes). Must be 18-25 years, be able to attend in-person sessions, and have a personal history of bipolar disorder or no mental health history.

��Email years-study@colorado.edu or call 303-735-7547 with questions.

Study on wellness in young adults

Interested in emotions and well-being? Want to help researchers understand psychological wellness and mental health? Participate in an engaging and fun paid study to understand your own emotions in the CU Department of Psychology and Neuroscience (IRB#24-0426)! You will be paid $30 for your participation (choice of Amazon or Target gift card)

Study includes some or all of the following parts (earn up to $30)

Part A: Remote online survey – Answer online questionnaires about your emotions, social and psychological well-being. Complete a 30-minute online survey.
Part B: In-person immersive experience – Come in-person to complete a brief 15–20-minute walk on CU Boulder campus, followed immediately by a brief 15-minute survey.

To qualify, you must be between the ages of 18 and 25 years old, fluent in English and able to walk 15–20 minutes unassisted without difficulty.

Interested in participating? ��Have any questions? To participate or ask questions, email awesome-study@colorado.edu and name the subject line “AWESOME Study."

Study on women, PTSD

CU Anschutz researchers are looking for women who do and do not experience trauma-related nightmares to join a research study. The purpose of the��DAWN Study is to understand how trauma-related nightmares impact heart health in women.

Qualifications:

Women 22–40 years of age
Do and do not experience repetitive nightmares related to prior traumatic experiences
No history of cancer, diabetes��or cardiovascular/heart disease

Compensation will be provided.

Interested? Complete the .��Send a message to DAWNstudy@cuanschutz.edu if you have additional questions.

Study on cognitive load in VR/AR

The SHINE Lab at CU Boulder is recruiting participants for XR research assessing and optimizing cognitive load. This entails identifying when and how to reduce cognitive load and improve training in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).

Who can join this study:

You are between 18–65 years old
You can speak and read English
You have normal vision (20/20) or corrected vision with contact lenses. Glasses are not recommended to be used with VR headsets.

In this research experiment, you are invited to complete an assembly task while inside of a consumer-available extended reality head-mounted display (HMD). This means that you may be in virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR). You will also wear a full head of neurological sensors: functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and electroencephalography (EEG).

The experiment takes 120 minutes. There are no direct benefits to you as a participant, but you will be able to gain some understanding of XR research. HMDs may increase the potential for humans to experience motion sickness symptoms or simulator sickness. Experience of these symptoms is greater for participants who have a history of motion sickness. As with any research, there is some possibility that you may be subject to risks that have not yet been identified.

You will receive a $40 Amazon gift card for your participation.

Study will be conducted at the Center for Innovation and Creativity (CINC), Room 184E (located at 1777 Exposition Drive). This room is inaccessible without a key, so someone will meet you in the lobby.

Email jalynn.nicoly@colorado.edu with questions.

Study on stress, menstrual cycle

CU Boulder researchers are currently recruiting participants for a research study exploring how stress and wellbeing change across the menstrual cycle. If you're someone who tracks your cycle or experiences noticeable shifts in mood or stress, this might be something you'd find interesting to take part in.

Eligibility:

Ages 18 and up
Regular menstrual cycles for the last six months
Not currently using hormonal birth control
Experience premenstrual symptoms

Participation involves a few brief activities spread out across one full cycle, including smartphone-based check-ins, a short survey and at-home ovulation tracking (materials provided). We expect you to divulge about three hours of commitment throughout your cycle.

In total, about three hours spread out across a month
Baseline questionnaires
At-home ovulation tracking (supplies provided)
Six-minute smartphone assessments every other day across your cycle

Participants will also be compensated for their time and can earn up to $50 for their participation. If you're curious to learn more or think you might be eligible, feel free to check out the attached flyer or .

Feel free to reach out to eleanor.goulden@colorado.edu with any questions.

Multiple sclerosis clinical trial

Researchers from the Neurophysiology of Movement Laboratory at CU Boulder are conducting a study to investigate if electrical stimulation applied to the legs can reduce fatigue and improve walking in persons with multiple sclerosis.

Eligibility:

You may be eligible to participate if you:

Are between 18–65 years of age
Have clinically confirmed diagnosis of MS
Are able to walk but have some difficulty walking
Experience some fatigue during activities of daily living

The 11-week study involves four evaluation visits and 18 treatment sessions (three times/week for six weeks).

Evaluation sessions (approximately two hours each):

Answering questionnaires
Tests of walking, balance and muscle function

Treatments (approximately 60 minutes each):

TENS applied to leg muscles while performing weight-lifting exercises
The treatment will be applied to two muscle groups in each leg

Participants will be paid up to $880 for completing the 11-week trial.

If you are interested, please contact Mélanie Henry by email at melanie.henry@colorado.edu and reference the MS clinical trial. Learn more.

Study on walking performance in older adults

Researchers from the Neurophysiology of Movement Laboratory at CU Boulder are conducting a study to investigate the influence of light electrical stimulation (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) on walking performance in older adults.

Eligibility:

Individuals��between ages 65 and 85
No recent lower-body injuries, free from neurological impairments
Able to walk unaided for six minutes

The study involves two evaluation visits to CU Boulder Main Campus. The two sessions (each approximately 1.5 hours each) will be separated by three to seven days. Walking will be tested while transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is applied over leg muscles and controlled by a foot switch.

Participants will earn $60 for completing the two sessions. If interested, please contact Rehab Aljaafari to learn more about the study: phone 720-687-7148 or email real5810@colorado.edu.

Mindfulness and cognition study

Participate in a paid one-hour in-person research study about mindfulness and cognition at CU Boulder (IRB 24-0545).

Eligibility:

18-plus��years old
Able to communicate in English
Able to participate in-person
Able to do a short, guided meditation

What’s involved:

Five-minute online screening
55 minute in-person visit (at the Renée Crown Wellness Institute)

Compensation: $20 for your participation

��If you have questions, please contact the principal investigator, Winnie Zhuang, at wen.zhuang@colorado.edu.

Want to see what your brain looks like?

The Intermountain Neuorimaging Consortium (INC) is a brain imaging research facility in the Institute of Cognitive Science at CU Boulder. They use MRI scans to study how the brain works and how the brain changes across the lifespan. They currently have six to seven studies that are looking for participants from a range of ages across the Denver metro area.

Learn More & Enroll��

Psychology research

Participate in a non-invasive electroencephalography (EEG) study on language comprehension (IRB 24-051).

Eligibility:

18–40 years old
Native speaker of English (fluent before age 10, able to read English with native proficiency)

Study information:

This will take place at the CINC building at 1777 Exposition Drive
One session lasting about 90 minutes
$20 per hour paid in cash at the end of the session

��Contact kimlab@colorado.edu with any further questions.

Sleep studies

Study on sleep, peripheral circadian clocks

The purpose of the Biomarkers of Peripheral Circadian Clocks in Humans study is to examine how light exposure and meal timing influences circadian rhythms in healthy people ages 17–40.

The study is seven weeks long with eight in-person visits at CU Boulder. Participants live in the sleep laboratory on two separate occasions for 7.7 days (15.4 days total).

Compensation is up to $4,093.

For more study details and information on how to apply, please . If you have any other questions, please email sleep.study@colorado.edu and ask about the peripheral clock study.

Study on delayed sleep-wake phase disorder

Do you have trouble falling asleep before 1 a.m.? Do you find it difficult to wake up early in the morning for your commitments? Does your high schooler have a hard time falling asleep before 1 a.m. and waking up early in the morning/for high school?

Researchers are looking for people with delayed sleep-wake phase disorder or people with late bedtimes, or healthy people with typical bedtimes.

You may be eligible for this study if you:

Are ages 16–30
Have��a diagnosis of delayed sleep-wake phase disorder��or have late bedtimes after 1 a.m., an inability to fall asleep and difficulty awakening when required for school/work
Are healthy with typical bedtimes and no sleep concerns

The study is 6.5 weeks long with six in-person visits and will include:

Health screening
Monitor on separate occasions your sleep, mood, eating times for one or two weeks and blood sugar levels while living at home
Live in the sleep laboratory on two separate occasions for 48-66 hours (approximately 4.87 days in total):
Blood and saliva sampling
Reaction time, mood, and ability to think testing

Compensation is up to $1,750.

��For more study details, email sleep.study@colorado.edu or call 303-735-1923.��

IRB Protocol: 23-0285, Pathophysiology of Circadian Rhythm Delayed Sleep Wake Phase Disorder

Study on skeletal response to night shift

CU Anschutz researchers in the��Department of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Diabetes are looking for healthy men and women to study the effects of sleep disruption on bone health.

You may qualify for this study if you:

Healthy man or woman (not pregnant) ages 20–40 years old
No current diagnosed or undiagnosed sleep conditions
Premenopausal women must be on continuous oral contraception pills
Habitually sleep seven to nine hours per night
No night shift work in the past year
A non-smoker

Involvement includes:

Measurements of bone mineral density
Completion of sleep questionnaires/assessments
Sleep with a simulated night-shift schedule or normal sleep schedule
A general physical exam
Activity monitoring with a wrist monitor
Blood/urine collection
Two��inpatient stays (four��nights each)

The total study duration is up to six weeks of participation. You will receive up to $1,500 and a FitBit for your time.

If interested, email��spotlight@cuanschutz.edu��for study details, or��.

Physiology of aging studies

The is recruiting for three studies:

Breathing exercise study (ages 18-plus)

Researchers are looking for participants to study the potential health effects of a new type of breathing exercise (a time-efficient type of exercise) delivered via a smartphone app on blood pressure and blood vessel function.

Requirements:

Aged 18-plus��years
Systolic BP (top number) 120–160 mmHg (please contact us if you are unsure of your blood pressure)
Own an Apple or Android smartphone
Willing to perform breathing exercises 5–10 minutes per day, six days a week, for six weeks

Participants receive:

Detailed blood panel (cholesterol, glucose, etc.)
Blood pressure screening
Monetary compensation for time

For more information, please email ipalab@colorado.edu or call 303-735-6410.

Breathing exercise study (ages 50-plus)

Researchers are looking for volunteers to study the potential healthy aging effects of a new type of breathing exercise (a time-efficient type of exercise), compared to brisk walking, on blood pressure and blood vessel function.

Requirements:

Aged 50-plus��years
Systolic blood pressure (top number) ≥ 115 mmHg
Willing to exercise up to 25 minutes per day, six days a week, for a three-month period

Participants receive:

Detailed blood panel (cholesterol, glucose, etc.)
Physician-monitored exercise stress test
Blood pressure screening
Bone mineral density test
Monetary compensation for time

For more information, please email ipalab@colorado.edu or call 303-735-6410.

Hot tub, blood pressure study

The Integrative Physiology of Aging Lab is seeking volunteers to participate in a clinical research study.

Requirements:

Aged 40-plus
Willing to participate in 12 weeks of hot tub sessions, approximately three times per week
Systolic BP (top number) > 115 mmHg (please contact us if you are unsure of your blood pressure)

Participants receive:

Exercise stress test
Body composition assessment
Detailed blood panel (cholesterol, glucose, etc.)
Monetary compensation for time

For more information, please email ipalab@colorado.edu or call 303-735-6410.��

Studies for the family

Maternal communication study

The Language, Development, and Cognition Lab invites young children to participate in a fun language perception study! You and your child can participate online via Zoom or in person at a time that is convenient for you.

The study is open to 3- to 5-year-old typically developing children who are acquiring English as a first language.

Your child will engage in a task in which they will be shown four images and asked to touch one of them (e.g., "touch the star!"). The total time for the study is 20–30 minutes including breaks.

You will receive a $20 Amazon gift card within one to two weeks of study completion. Interested? Contact ldclab.boulder@colorado.edu.

Child communication��research

The Child Research Participant Registry connects families and researchers, so that together they can advance understanding of human communication and methods to diagnose and treat children who have communication-related challenges. They invite families of children with or without communication challenges to join the registry.

To learn more, or to sign up your child, please��. The research registry is affiliated with the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences.

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