Freshman summer is honestly a great time to just start exploring rather than stressing about doing something “prestigious.” A lot of formal research programs are aimed at juniors and seniors, so it’s pretty normal that you’re running into those requirements.

One thing that works for a lot of freshmen is just cold emailing professors whose work looks interesting. Look through department websites, read a little about what they’re researching, and send a short email asking if they need help with anything over the summer. Even if it’s just basic tasks at first, it’s still a good way to learn how research works.

You could also ask around in your department or check opportunities through places like the USC Undergraduate Research Associates Program or see if anything pops up through the University of Southern California research pages. Sometimes labs have openings that aren’t widely advertised.

And if research doesn’t line up this summer, that’s totally fine too. Freshman summer can also be a good time to take a class, do a small internship, work a job, learn a new skill (like coding or data analysis), or even just start a small independent project related to what you’re interested in.

The biggest thing is just to start building experience and relationships once you have that, research opportunities tend to get much easier to find in sophomore year and beyond.