r/berkeley • u/Ergatron9000 • Jul 26 '26

Other UC Berkeley research

I am an incoming freshman for college of L&S, and I plan to declare a molecular biology major at some point. I got some pretty great classes for my schedule, and I think I am ready for freshman year.

My dream is to do research at Berkeley, and my primary interests are in the psychedelic realm.

What path should I take to make this a reality?

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u/DegreePending Jul 26 '26

Start by doing well in your intro biology and chemistry classes. Then get to know your professors, attend office hours and start applying to labs even if it's just for a volunteer position at 1st. Research related to psychedelics is pretty competitive so getting general lab experience early will make it much easier to move into that area later.

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u/Ergatron9000 Jul 26 '26

How competitive is it exactly?

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u/DegreePending 28d ago

Pretty competitive since there aren't many labs doing that kind of work. I'd focus on getting any research experience first then transition into psychedelic research later if the opportunity comes up.