Summer Research Support on Campus in Biology

Summer support on campus comes in three main forms:

1. Funding from a faculty member’s grant to support research on a specific project.
2. Funds provided to the College by foundations, individuals, or groups to offer students research experiences. These opportunities may be open to many students or targeted, per donor instructions, to particular types or locations of research.
3. Grants awarded to one or more faculty members to support research training in a specific field (for example, Beckman Fellowships). Most fellowships range from $2,500 to $4,000 and sometimes include free dorm housing.

The Charles Center offers several summer fellowships relevant to students interested in biology. All require that students return in the fall semester, and deadlines typically fall in late February. You may apply for multiple fellowships but might be limited to accepting only one.

Proposals are generally written by students with extensive guidance (often including topic choice) from their faculty mentors. It’s important to have a professor who can and will supervise your project. While it’s not required, having a professor review drafts and help with revisions is a good idea. The submitted proposal should be your own work.

The Biology Department often has additional sources of support. Occasionally, funding is available through specific programs sponsored by companies like Merck or Beckman, supporting students conducting summer research. Application deadlines for these typically fall between February and April, with announcements posted or emailed to Biology majors.

Some summers, the Llanso-Sherman Award ($2,000) is available to support biomedical research in biology. This award focuses on medicine-related fields and rotates among several science departments, so it’s not offered to biology students every year. Interested students should consult faculty to identify a potential supervisor. The application process begins with a letter of nomination from a professor.