Join the Grow to Care Lab!

Prospective Graduate Students

I will be accepting graduate students for Fall 2026 start (2025 application period). See details below:

I am looking for creative and ambitious graduate students (M.A. or Ph.D.) who value theory, rigorous and transparent research, and knowledge mobilization initiatives within the area of developmental psychology to join my team. See our projects for more information about current focus areas in our research.

I encourage you to apply to SFU's graduate program under my advisement if you:

Are interested and driven to better understand human development through the lens of emotion
Are eager to learn cutting-edge research methods
Have a good foundation of writing and presentation skills
Are an independent self-starter and work well in teams
Hold kindness and respect as core values in your scholarship and within your life

Vision for Graduate Student Training

I am seeking graduate students who wish to join the Psychology Graduate Program (Developmental Area). As an advisor, my goal is to prepare you for a career beyond graduate school (in academia or otherwise). Through the program and my mentorship, you will learn research-specific skills (i.e., developing hypotheses, desiging research studies, collecting data, analyzing data, writing and publishing manuscripts in top-tier journals, and presenting research findings) and other transferrable skills (e.g., leadership, communication, problem-solving, community-building, time management) that will set you up for success. Importantly, through th program, you will foster meaningful connections with other researchers, organizations, community leaders, and families.

Please carefully review SFU's graduate program information pages before you apply:

Requirements Admission Info

Post-doctoral Researchers

The Grow to Care Lab is interested in supporting post-doctoral researchers via SSHRC's postdoctoral fellowship awards.

Undergraduate Opportunities

Research Assistant

A research assistant position with the Grow to Care Lab is a training opportunity where you would develop key research skills under the guidance of Dr. Joanna Peplak. Your role would entail working within a team setting to engage in project development, participant recruitment and testing, transcription and data analysis. You are an ideal candidate if you meet the following qualifications:

Currently enrolled in a Psychology major or minor
Have taken PSYC250 (Intro to Developmental Psychology)
Minimum 3.0 GPA
Can commit to 8 hours and a one-hour team meeting weekly for at least one year
This opportunity aligns with your future goals

Fillable_RA_Application.pdf

If you are interested in applying, please complete the following:

Download and complete the above application form.
Send the completed application form, your current CV/resume and you unofficial academic transcript to Dr. Joanna Peplak, jpeplak@sfu.ca, and cc the lab manager, Cahleigh, cka67@sfu.ca.
For all application emails, please put "Application for [position you are applying for]" as the subject of your email.
Please include your full name and your sfu email.

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Honours, Directed Study, or Research Engagement Program

Students who are interested in completing the PSYC 393 Research Engagement course, or the PSYC 493-494-495 Directed Studies course under the advisement of Dr. Peplak are required to have either:

(1) had a prior class with Dr. Peplak, or

(2) have volunteered at the Grow to Care Lab for at least one semester.

Students who are interested in completing the honours program under the advisement of Dr. Peplak are required to have completed a research engagement or directed study with Dr. Peplak.

Some exceptions may apply.

Please see Lab Policies page for more information on how to apply.

Youth Research Advisor Opportunities

Refugee Research Advisor

Grow to Care Lab is seeking a young person aged 16-21 years-old with lived experience as a refugee newcomer to Canada for a volunteer Refugee Research Advisor position. You would be working on the Talking to Kids About World Event Projects, which investigates how parents discuss global events with their children. Responsibilities of this role include working on a team of research assistants on study material development, and providing feedback on whether our measures appropriately reflect displacement experiences. You are an ideal candidate if you meet the following qualifications:

You are between 16 and 21 years-old
You have lived experience as a newcomer to Canada
You can read, write and speak English with at least intermediate proficiency
You can commit to volunteering with our lab for at least one year
You are able to attend a monthly Zoom meeting with the Grow to Care Lab team
You are able to complete a cumulative total of 5-8 hours of feedback each month

Refugee_YA_Form_Fillable.pdf