Research traineeships and internships in Life Sciences

Find out about the opportunities to gain experience in a laboratory during the summer vacation

A lecturer and student in front of a perplex glass writing an equation in black pen

A career in life sciences research can be extremely rich and rewarding. However, you might find it difficult to imagine what it would be like to work full-time in a world-class research team.

Many learned societies and other funding bodies in the UK offer fully-funded vacation studentships. This can allow you to gain paid experience in a laboratory environment and usually takes place prior to your final year of study (end of level 3).

To undertake such an opportunity, you must first identify a laboratory that you would be keen to work with. You can browse our list of potential supervisors from Life Sciences or you can contact labs based at the School of Medicine.

When you have selected a potential supervisor, email them and explain that you would like to undertake a vacation scholarship in their laboratory and why. When contacting a potential supervisor, please copy in the summer school email: [email protected] as this will allow us to monitor who is potentially participating and provide necessary information and support. Placements are subject to availability within the lab and to how well the experience aligns with your learning goals. If another lab is a better fit for your interests, you may be referred to a different supervisor.

If accepted, the supervisor, with your input, should write a short project outline and submit it around spring time to your chosen funder (deadlines vary so be sure to check early). Generally, the project supervisor must be a member of your chosen society for you to be eligible.

A selection of vacation studentships available from learned societies and other funding bodies is listed below. Some organisations also directly offer studentships in programming, scientific publishing, and public engagement on a competitive basis. These vacation studentships are dependent on a successful funding application made by your potential supervisor and are non-transferable. If your potential supervisor is awarded a Vacation Scholarship for you it cannot be given to someone else if you change your mind.

The Gatsby Plant Science Summer School

Gatsby plays a crucial role in promoting excellence in plant science research in the UK. The Gatsby Plant Science Summer School is for Level 2 students at University of Dundee. This inspirational week is fully-funded and takes place at the end of the second Semester. To apply, you first need to contact and be nominated by Dr Piers Hemsley ([email protected]) who is the Gatsby Mentor for Plant Science at University of Dundee & The James Hutton Institute.