By Margaret A. Lynch
Are you an undergraduate who’d like to do life sciences research in the summer? If so, there is a multitude of summer research programs available for you. Most application deadlines fall in December through early March, so now is a great time to investigate your options and apply. You can view program listings and funding options on the Life Sciences Undergraduate Education Research Opportunities Pages. Here are some of your options:
Programs for Students Underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)
Students who belong to groups underrepresented in STEM and the health sciences will find a variety of summer research program options. As outlined on the by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, underrepresented minorities (URM) in STEM fields include people with disabilities, from defined disadvantaged backgrounds, and from groups nationally underrepresented in STEM including African Americans, Alaska Natives, American Indians, Hispanic Americans, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders. See the URM research pages for information on specific programs.
Harvard Programs on campus and abroad
If you are interested in conducting research under the guidance of Harvard faculty and researchers, you can do so in many disciplinary and interdisciplinary areas and in a variety of locations.
In the Cambridge-Boston area there are well over a dozen summer programs include the well-known Harvard College Program in Research in Science and Engineering (PRISE), the Microbial Sciences Initiative Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship, and the Harvard School of Public Health Summer Program in Biological Sciences. A bit further afield is the Harvard Forest Summer Research Program in Ecology, which is of particular interest to students wanting to conduct field research in one of 18 areas in 2015.
Students can also venture abroad to participate in life sciences research. The Harvard Summer School offers Study Abroad programs in the sciences, including Biology and the Evolution of Paris as a Smart City, a brand new program in Paris, France, and Neurobiological study and research at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Tokyo, Japan. Students keen on doing research in India can apply to the Harvard Bangalore Science Initiative.
For details on these and many other programs, see the Life Sciences Undergraduate Education Research Opportunities pages.
Other Summer Research Programs in the United States & Research Abroad
If you’d like the experience of doing life sciences research at another college or university in the United States or internationally, you can do so through an organized program.
In the United States, the National Science Foundation (NSF) awards grants to institutions via its Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. Students can search for a program by both location and topic. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) offers Environmental Health Summer Fellowships, and the National Institutes of Health funds a Summer Internship Program in Biomedical Research, as well as a number of other summer research programs.
Internationally, programs in the United Kingdom, Portugal, France, Germany, and Switzerland provide opportunities for students to gain research experience and hone research skills, as well as interact with students from around the globe.
Only a few of the many research programs are mentioned here; see our website for a more comprehensive listing.
Tips:
- Check the program’s website for application requirements, deadlines, and eligibility requirements. Some programs are limited to U.S. citizens and permanent residents, and/or limit eligibility to rising juniors and seniors.
- Be sure to contact your references well before any deadlines. Send them your updated information (such as your resume) and relevant program information so that they can write a detailed and targeted letter of recommendation.
Questions? Contact Margaret A. Lynch, the Life Sciences Undergraduate Research Advisor.