Subject Pool Directions for Researchers • UCLA Department of Psychology

Researchers must apply to receive approval to use the UCLA Psychology Department Subject Pool by submitting an application and a copy of your IRB and/or Office of Human Research Protection Program (OHRPP) approval to the Chair of the Subject Pool Committee, Dr. Ladan Shams. Please note that a separate application needs to be submitted for each study you plan to run (even if they all fall under the umbrella of one larger study).
The Fall 2024 – Summer 2025 application is now open.
All experiment data is deleted from the SONA system at the end of each Summer, and new applications are required to run studies in each new academic year.
Subject Pool Applications can take 5-7 business days to process.
Once approved, you may contact subjectpool@psych.ucla.edu to request a researcher account which will enable you to access the Psychology Department Subject Pool system. You may do the same for any research assistants.
Do not post your study on Sona before receiving approval for your application, otherwise the study will be deleted.
Once logged on, post your experiment to recruit participants from the subject pool, schedule appointment times, and assign credits to participants. Note that compensation to participants is restricted to course credit only. Participants may not receive monetary compensation for their involvement in the Psychology Subject Pool.
If you have questions about the Psychology Subject Pool system, please contact us at subjectpool@psych.ucla.edu.

1st day to post experiments corresponds to the 1st day of instruction.
Last day to run experiments and assign credit is Thursday of Week 10 during the academic year (Fall-Spring quarters).
Last day to run experiments and assign credit for Summer Sessions is Tuesday of Week 6 of each session.

Office of the Human Research Protection Program (OHRPP)
Apply to receive approval to use human subjects in your experiments.