Laboratory internships UK

The best undergraduate courses provide solid foundations for careers in Science and other sectors, as well as high quality research experience through course requirements for research projects and/or placements in external research centres.

Some of the best Postgraduate Schools and Programmes prefer candidates who have an excellent academic record (typically 2:1 or 1st Class Honours BSc or MSc degree) as well as internship experience in one or more laboratories.

Why

• Internships provide important insights into how research is done and whether the internee has the necessary qualities, intellectrual curiosity and ability, enthusiasm, initiative, independence and ability to work in a team, self motivation, energy and ability to design and carry out experiments to be a successful researcher.

• Most undergraduates find their research project one of their most enjoyable parts of their course, and this leads many to choose a PhD career. The most successful PhD candidates tend to be those who have had prior research experience through project and preferably interships as well, although academically strong candidates with only undergraduate project experience are also very good candidates. Those who have done internships might be preferred for some PhD Studentships for various reasons, e.g. potentially better understanding of research, increased maturity, experience of a variety of research methods and experimental approaches, more opportunities to solve problems, increased confidence, etc.
  
• Most importantly internships will enable you to decide whether you feel passionate about and able to succeed in research for at least the next 3-4 years of your career.

• You should try to organise an internship ideally in the summer vacation at the end of your 2nd or 3rd year. A good idea might be to volunteer for 4-6 weeks at the end of 1st and/or 2nd year and to apply for a vacation studentship for the summer of the 3rd year.

• Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, because this is a high quality research training environment, and you can easily access research labs for information
• Other research departments in Oxford or in your Home city or elsewhere in the UK where vacation studentships are advertised (see back pages of New Scientist and Nature)
• Industrial research laboratories in the UK/abroad
  
• Abroad, in internationally recognized research universities and research institutes