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Research Opportunities for Students There are a number of ways that a Macalester science major can gain experience working in a research lab during the summer. There are collaborative research opportunities located on the Macalester campus, and there are opportunities off-campus. These opportunities can be funded by government agencies, corporations, or private foundations. This website provides information about on-campus opportunities and some off-campus opportunities. On Campus Beckman: The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, an independent, non-profit Foundation makes grants to non-profit research institutions to promote research in chemistry and the life sciences, and foster the invention of methods, instruments, and materials. Macalester was selected as a recipient for the Beckman Scholars Program in 2003. Beltmann: The Beltmann Fund provides support for student-faculty research in the Physical Sciences (Chemistry, Geology, Physics) during the summer by providing stipends for students and faculty. These endowed funds were given to Macalester by Mr. Albert Beltmann, who was a student at Macalester in the post World War I era. Student-Faculty Summer Research Collaboration : The Student-Faculty Summer Research Collaboration enables teams of Macalester faculty and students to engage in significant projects over a four to ten week period during the summer. Projects must be related to the faculty member's curricular, pedagogical, scholarly, or creative interests and should be planned and executed by the student and faculty member working together. The projects should be designed to permit completion of a substantial portion of the work during the summer. Individual faculty grants: Individual faculty members are awarded external grants to support their research programs. Each faculty member may invite students to assist with the research and will establish application guidelines. Application Process: Talk with your advisor about how to apply for these opportunities and specific application deadlines. It is challenging to "research" all of the possible summer research opportunities that are available off campus. The opportunities can be located in an academic, government or corporate settings, and can funded by a number of sources. This website provides information about opportunities funded by the federal government, opportunities at the University of MN, other institutions and opportunities funded by some corporations and private foundations. Government-Funded Opportunities The NSF funds a large number of research opportunities for students through its Research Experiences for Undergraduate (REU) program. The program supports active research participation by undergraduate students in any of the areas of research funded by the National Science Foundation. REU projects involve students in ongoing research programs or in research projects designed especially for undergraduate participation. There are two mechanisms for supporting student research in an REU program: (1) REU Sites are based on independent proposals to initiate and conduct projects that engage a number of students in research. REU Sites may be based in a single discipline or academic department, or on interdisciplinary or multi-department research opportunities with a coherent intellectual theme. (2) REU Supplements may be requested for ongoing NSF-funded research projects or may be included as a component of proposals for new or renewal NSF grants or cooperative agreements. Undergraduate students can participant in either Sites or Supplements, and must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States or its possessions. Students are given stipends, and possibly assistance with housing and travel. Students do not apply to the NSF to participate in REU activities. Students apply directly to REU Sites. The NSF maintains a directory of active REU sites. An efficient way to locate REU sites is to access the directory (www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/reu_search.cfm) and select a specific academic discipline area, a specific location or a specific academic institution. The National Institutes of Health Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The CDC has a ten week summer program in Environmental Public Health at the National Center for Environmental Health /Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (NCEH/ATSDR) in Atlanta, Georgia. This is a 10-week paid summer internship for undergraduate students passionate about the environment, about health, and about the link between the two. This opportunity is for students majoring in Environmental Sciences, Environmental Studies, or related fields. Students will assist with projects and be paired with mentors to gain experience in Environmental Public Health. For more information go to http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/cleh. Other federal agencies offer summer research opportunities. Students must be either United States citizens or permanent residents of the United States. These agencies include:
University of Minnesota The Life Sciences Summer Research Program (LSSURP) oversees and coordinates four life sciences programs which include ecology and the environment, molecular biology, neuroscience and independent research. The programs begin with a joint orientation weekend followed by participation in a 10-week research project under the direction of a University of Minnesota faculty mentor, and numerous special activities focused on professional development as well as social interaction. The summer research experience concludes with a poster symposium and banquet. LSSURP is designed to potentially recruit highly qualified students to the graduate life science programs of the University of Minnesota. For more information about LSSURP go to www.cbs.umn.edu/main/summer_research. Ian Malm, a Macalester biology major, participated in LSSURP during the summer of 2006. If you would like to find out more about Ian's experience with LSSURP, you can contact him at imalm@macalester.edu. The Department of Chemistry at the University sponsors a summer research program for outstanding undergraduate students. The Chemistry Summer Research Program is designed to encourage students in the chemical sciences to learn more about research in chemistry and provide them with the opportunity to work in a lab under the direction of a faculty member. For more information go to http://www.chem.umn.edu/lando/. Kari Tanaka participated in the LANDO program during the summer of 2006. If you would like to learn more about Kari's experience, you can contact her at ktanaka@macalester.edu. The Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (UMN MRSEC) is a collaboration among the science and engineering departments of the University's Institute of Technology. The MRSEC program has undergraduate summer research opportunities. Kari Tanaka participated in the MRSEC program in the summer of 2007. You can contact her at ktanaka@macalester.edu. More information can be found at www.mrsec.umn.edu/ehr/reudesciption.shtml The Bioinformatics Summer Institute (BSI) at the University sponsors a summer internship program for undergraduate and graduate students. The program is supported by the NSF, NIH and the University of MN. For more information go to http://www.bsi.umn.edu/ The Supercomputing Institute for Digital Simulation and Advanced Computation sponsors an Undergraduate Internship Program. The focus of the program is the application of computational approaches and visualization methods to supercomputing research. This includes digital simulation and advanced computation and all aspects of high-performance computing and scientific modeling and simulation as well as graphics, visualization, informatics, and high-performance network communications. Interns work with faculty members and their research groups on projects using high-performance computing environments to address problems in science and engineering. For more information go to www.msi.umn.edu/general/Programs/uip/index.htm The School of Physics and Astronomy has a summer research program for juniors and seniors interested in post baccalaureate studies. Faculty of the school supervise research activity, working with one or two students each. For more information go to www.physics.umn.edu/outreach/reu Mayo Graduate School Minneapolis Heart Institute The Summer Lab Science Program at Mayo Clinic has paid positions available for students majoring in chemistry, human biological sciences, clinical laboratory science, or medical technology. This is an opportunity to explore career options and gain experience in the clinical laboratory environment. For more information go to Biomedical Opportunities
Private American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Undergraduate Research
Fellowship Bristol Myers Squibb Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship Program Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Genentech Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Jackson Laboratory Pfizer Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences Roswell Park Cancer Institute Summer Research Participation Program
in Science Recommended by a Faculty Member: Donald Danforth Plant Science Ctr Professor Paul Overvoorde states that the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is a great place to do research. Talk to Professor Overvoorde if you are interested in applying. Xu Han did research at the Danforth Institute in the summer of 2007. Contact him at xhan for more information. The Center is located in St. Louis, MO and is offering 10-15 paid internships to undergraduate students majoring in Life Sciences. The internship stipend is $4400 for eleven weeks and students will be given limited travel reimbursements and food allowances. Non-local participants will stay in fully furnished apartments located near the Danforth Center. For more information go to www.danforthcenter.org/internship. Amgen Scholars Program The ten host universities for the Amgen Scholars program are the California Institute of Technology; Columbia University/Barnard College; Howard University; the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Stanford University; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of California, San Diego; the University of California, San Francisco; and the University of Washington. University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine Pediatric Research at Indiana University School of Medicine U of Nebraska Medical Center (Omaha) Michigan State University Plant Genomics Duke University U of Penn Nanotechnology University of Cincinnati College of Medicine Ohio Mathematical Biosciences U of Alabama Recommended by an Alum: U of Pittsburgh Recommended by an Alum: U of Michigan Student Conservation Association Wildlife-Related Positions APS and IBM Research Positions for Women Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural History Mathematical Biosciences Institute Programs Marshfield, Wisconsin International Opportunities The NSF has international REU positions. Go to www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/reu_search.cfm and select “International Science and Engineering” The Rochester Institute of Technology has a subcategory on their list of summer opportunities. Go to www.rit.edu/%7Egtfsbi/Symb/international.htm. The Research Internships in Science and Engineering (RISE) program in Germany has opportunities for undergraduate students from the US and Canada. Students work on projects at top research institutions and universities in Germany. More information at www.daad.de/rise/en/index.html. Rice University has a program, NanoJapan, which includes a 3-week Japanese language program followed by a 9-week research internship at leading nanotechnology labs throughout Japan. For more information go to http://nanojapan.rice.edu. RIT Website Good Advice Experiential Learning Opportunities Travel Awards The Biology Division of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) is offering a limited number of travel grants, up to $250 each, for undergraduate students presenting original research results at a regional or national, discipline-specific meeting during the fiscal year 2007 - 2008. Check out www.cur.org/biostudenttravel.html. Postbaccalaureate Program at the NIH The Application Process 1. Prioritize what you would like to accomplish during the summer. 2. Look at websites and learn more about the opportunities. Take note of :
3. Talk with your advisor about possible research opportunities before you apply. Your advisor will help you evaluate research programs and determine which are a good match for you. 4. Apply to more than one program. Although there are many positions available for student research, they are competitive. It is best to complete applications for several opportunities. Review the information below about completing applications and writing a personal statement. 5. Ask for letters of recommendation in advance. Provide the relevant information to the professor which includes:
6. Follow the requirements for sending your transcript. Completing Applications: Personal Statements and Research Interests Most applications will ask for some kind of personal statement. These vary in length. You should always follow the word limits. Shorter is okay. Longer is not. They will ask for your thoughts on any or all of the following:
Research interests: This is where you should tell the reader how you came by your interests—why you chose this topic. Focus on classes and projects you particularly enjoyed and professors you found inspiring. Talk about science classes you have taken as a set of tools you have gained which you can use in your research. Time you spent in the lab and experiments you designed or helped design will be most important to your readers. Describe conversations you have had with professors outside of the classroom or other relevant opportunities you may have had (e.g., research papers, volunteer opportunities). Generally this information should focus on your recent thoughts and accomplishments. Anecdotes from childhood, although often showing an early predilection toward science, do not bolster your current thinking and interests in this regard. Career goals: Although you don’t have to have a specific career path picked out, you should be able to talk about emerging interests and aspirations. If you can confidently say you want to go to grad school, then do so, but if you aren’t sure, then it’s all right to say that you have several possibilities in mind. Describe and list them. Again, this is a good place to say why something interests you—tell the story of how you came by these interests. It is also appropriate to discuss how this opportunity will help you further define your career interests. Why you are interested in this program: Here, you want to be able to say something specific about the program you are applying to. Saying you want more lab experience is a good start, but it isn’t sufficient. Take a close look at the program and talk about what appeals to you—is it a good match with your research interests? Does it provide a chance to work with someone in a career that interests you? Is it a chance to gain skills you need but don’t have? These three questions will help the reviewer decide whether or not you get the position. Other questions that may come up are biographical—where did you grow up, what do you do in your spare time, etc. Be honest with these answers, but don’t worry too much about them—they are just there to help the reviewer get a more complete picture of you. When reviewers sit down to a pile of applications, these details help to give them a picture of you as an individual—a sort of marker that helps make your application unique. Completing Applications: Resumes The CDC has information about developing a resume. More information at http://www.macalester.edu/cdc/careersandjobs/jobsearchskills/resumes/index.html The CDC website also has sample resumes, including ones specifically for science students. To review the resumes go to
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