Undergrad Students

Every semester Abbie Goldberg has approximately 8 undergraduate research assistants working in the lab. Students work on transcribing, coding, and other projects. More advanced students can take on leadership positions within the lab. To be considered for a research assistant position in the lab, students

must have at least a 3.0 GPA, be able to make at least a one-year commitment, and show a strong interest in research related to adoption, sexual orientation, gender, parenthood, and/or diverse families more generally. Most undergraduate students who work in the lab choose to work in the lab for more than a year. Thus, students should ideally apply for a research assistant position in their second or third year at Clark. Undergraduate students who are interested in applying for a research assistant position should use this online form.

Undergraduate students who worked in Dr. Goldberg’s lab have gone on to pursue graduate work in social work, counseling psychology, clinical psychology, and nursing. Sample graduate programs include doctoral programs in clinical psychology at UMass Amherst and University of Montana and masters in social work programs at Simmons, Boston College, Boston University, and Loyola.  Students have also obtained employment in social service agencies, adoption agencies, university settings, and medical schools.

“Entering in as a freshman, I knew that I wanted to make a difference, whatever that difference may be. My experiences in the lab  over the past four years proved to me that I do have the drive and the skills to make an impact on this world when I leave Clark.” — Clark University graduate

“It was because of what I learned about adoption and adoptive couples’ experiences with 

adoption in the Diverse Families Lab that I decided to pursue a career working in the adoption field. I recently started working at a social service agency as an adoption social worker. I primarily work with people adopting children from the foster care system. I also assist with international and private adoptions.  I am really enjoying the work I am doing. I really appreciate being a part of a lab that allowed me to get to this point.” — Clark University graduate

Sample titles of honors theses and capstone research projects that Dr. Goldberg has supervised:

• Gay dads raising daughters: Challenging heteronormative gender socialization    practices.
• Making a family: How single mothers by choice define kinship.
• Somebody to lean on: Parents’ perceptions of the availability and effectiveness of support in foster-care adoptions.
• Lesbians’ parenthood motivations: Desires, decisions, and negotiations.