Internships and research experiences are pivotal experiences to determine where your interests lie, provide you with career skills, networking opportunities and more. Many Summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs) are highly competitive because they provide free housing, mentoring support, and stipends to cover living expenses for the summer. Having a strong personal statement and CV/ Resume and applying to 10-20 programs is key.
To gain some inspiration from a leading reproductive biologist who embraces diversity, outreach, equity, and inclusivity, shares her science career story, and reflects on her first research experience as an artistically minded student, see this video Rebecca Calisi Rodriguez on Charting an Original Path.
Searching & Preparing
Finding the right fit takes some time so we encourage you to start your search 12 months in advance, ideally during the summer or winter breaks when you have time to dedicate to the effort. We also offer a Tutorial Advising Course in the fall semesters to guide your process. In general because these are merit, need, and competitive posts, students should apply to 10-20 positions to secure one position. One way to reduce the workload is to use the Big Ten Alliance, connecting you to ten summer REUS with a single application.
To see a curated list of internship options for Interdisciplinary Science students see the Internships & REUs page; or schedule an appointment with one of our faculty members to learn more. You can also search for internships on your own using Databases.
Katayoun Chamany
Biology, Genetics, Life Sciences, Bioethics, Epidemiology, Biomedicine, Molecular Visualizations, Science Communication, STEAMD, Public Health, One Health
Bhawani Venkataraman
Chemistry, Environmental Studies, and Environmental Policy, Climate, Energy
Debasmita Basu
Quantitative Reasoning, Data Visualization, Math Modeling, Health and Climate
Jennifer Wilson
Mathematics, Big Data, and Stats, Radio lab and MoMath Museum
Alexa Riggs
Public Health, Epidemiology
Underrepresented Students
Underrepresented students can be broadly defined to include sexual identity/ orientation, disability, and income. There are programs that are broad in their research in an effort to diversify STEM fields. The Leadership Alliance partners with institutions across the physical, behavioral, life sciences, math, and humanities to provide research experiences to students with and without prior research experience. For students pursuing a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences or medicine there are the NIH PREP Post-Bac programs that are fully funded and provide strong mentorship, and also provide funding for visits and interviews (Ronnie Almonte and Tesean Chavis completed these programs). Additionally, many of the NSF funded REUs specifically seek to diversify the STEM workforce so be sure to look through those databases.
PreproTech Scholarship Diversity scholarship for any self identified minority, including but not limited to LGBTQIA+, African-American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, or Native American; $20-40K paid to the institution of higher learning. Scroll to the bottom with the video about the scholarship and the recipients. Their scholarship information will be available each fall so check back often. January 31 deadline.
Undocumented Students
Although undocumented students are not eligible for support through NSF REUs and other programs funded directly by the federal government of the U.S., there are a variety of programs funded by non-federal sources where eligibility does not depend upon American citizenship. All of these research programs run during a 8-10 week summer session and typically provide a stipend (often $3000-$7000), lodging, meals, and/or travel expenses. Note that eligibility requirements are not always clear on web sites; some of these programs have been added to the list based on conversations with program directors. Students with questions should contact program directors directly. This website has a list for students to use. Additionally, there is also the NYCLifeSci internship which is a step wise process for those interested in LifeScience spanning, lab work, research, industry business, journalism and more.
Students with Disability
For students living with apparent or non apparent disability, EntryPoint! is a program of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) offering outstanding paid 10-week summer internship and co-op opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students with apparent and non-apparent disabilities in science, engineering, mathematics, computer science, and some fields of business. Since 1996, AAAS and Entry Point! has created partnerships with NASA, IBM, Merck, Dow Chemical, Lockheed Martin, Ball Aerospace, L’Oreal, as well as university based research programs seeking to diversify their pool of interns. There is a preliminary form for eligibility and application review starts in September with very few applications reviewed after Feb 15th.
Academic Credit
Lang Internships Students can get academic credit for internships by registering for the internship course, or complete the internships on their own for no credit. This includes summer internships for which there is a zero credit option which avoids tuition payment.
Funding
Students who volunteer in labs or with organizations can often improve their chances to secure one of these paid coveted positions and can still cover their financial needs. Some of our alumni took the initiative to volunteer or receive college internship credit for their experience and later were offered paid positions, so remember to consider this option and discuss your ideas with faculty mentors or alumni.
For Interdisciplinary Science Majors and Minors the Mohn Family Science and Social Justice Fellowship Program partners with local organizations that have a good understanding of our program and our students interests. This program also provides stipends and living wage for those who identify their own unpaid internship sites. Applications are rolling and have three deadlines for priority status, March 15, July 15 and Oct 15.
Lang Fellowships also provides a useful list of resources. Click the link and scroll down to the expandable pull down menu.
TNS Library has a database called COS Pivot and has created a TNS COS Pivot Advanced Searching Tips and a Library Guide, and more. The COS Pivot is a database in the library resources.
COS Funding Opportunities Handout Community of Science Database for funding opportunities including REUs, Fellowships, Scholarships available from TNS database. There is also a Library Guide for COS Pivot on the Libraries Landing Page and linked from the link below on the Lang College Engaged Learning and Scholarships page.
The New School Student Research Awards The university awards small grants for developing or implementing a research project (broadly defined to include the full scope of scholarly, creative, and professional practices across the colleges of The New School) with project-related expenses—for example, travel to research sites or conferences to disseminate work, equipment and supplies, access fees for data, memberships/ conference registration, or dissemination at conferences or costs for showcasing artwork or performances. Applicants may apply for a maximum of $3,000 for individual grants or a maximum of $5,000 for collaborative grants that involve more than one student, but applications for lower levels of funding are also encouraged. Applications are accepted twice a year (Dec and March.
Lang College Engaged Learning and Scholarships compiles funding opportunities for current students interesting in making curricular connections to practice based experiences such as those in civic engagement, social science, STEM, environmental sustainability and design, and more. These include the Eugene Lang Opportunity Awards (ELOA provides funding for unpaid internships up to $2K) and Civic Engagement and SJ Mini grants. Be sure to scroll to the bottom to see pull down menus and application links.
Tishman Sustainable Design Scholarship is open to all students who are interested in sustainable development.
Tishman Environmental Justice Movement Fellowships is a group collective, two year commitment for EJ minded students. The Fellowship offers 2+ years of support for design, research, and prototyping solutions. Fellows receive individual stipends of $12,000 and groups will receive between $10,000-$20,000 to support their group prototypes. Groups will also receive coaching. Fellows’ organizations will receive $5,000 to $8,000 per participating fellow. Fellows will need a fiscal sponsor or affiliated 501(c)(3) organization to receive funds on their behalf. Applications are due each August.
All travel and lodging expenses for the retreats will be covered. There are also separate emergency discretionary funds available for fellows who may need to cover additional costs in order to participate fully in the program.
The Michael Kalil Endowment for Smart Design Award was established in 2001 at the School of Constructed Environments (SCE) in memory of designer Michael Kalil. The mission of the Endowment is to promote understanding of the design intersections between nature and technology and to foster a heightened sense of responsibility for increasing the sustainability of all design fields. Each year the Kalil Endowment awards three Memorial Grants, given to New School students working in the spirit of Michael Kalil. Recipients of a Kalil Grant are expected to present their findings at the Kalil event the following academic year.The Endowment Grants are awarded to students of the New School University. Grant recipients use their award monies to support a project or course of study that intersects between nature and technology increasing sustainability. Projects might include: travel, attendance or participation in workshops, conferences, meetings, participation in design competitions, pursuit of an independent course of study, and/or scholarly research and publication.
TNS Library Guide connects you to resources on and off campus and provides steps and protocols for navigating some of the most useful databases to search for opportunities such as COS Pivot- also also the COS handout below.
Scholly is accessible to TNS students and is a database that matches you to scholarships based on your interests, age, etc.
Databases
The sites below are designed to help you identify the right site, type of experience, and prepare your application in a timely and effective manner. Much of what you learn by going through this process will also be useful for fellowship, scholarship, and graduate school applications. Each database is searchable with many filters. There is a smaller curated list of good fits for our students on the Internships and REUs page of this website.
USAJobs Pathways Program offers paid federal internship and employment opportunities for current students, recent graduates and those with an advanced degree.
Handshake: Allows you to post your resume/CV and is specifically designed for students and recent graduates. See this ppt for an overview from Jennifer McDonald in Career Services at The New School.
National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates is a very large database that you can search by academic discipline or areas. Browse each page and use “find in page” with key words such as “genetics”, ” environment” etc.
Pathways to Science has a searchable database of summer paid internships and research experiences, portable scholarships and short term funding for travel, post-bac programs for the general student, for women only, and for under represented minorities only.
Northeastern University Webguru is a comprehensive guide on how to locate, prepare, practice and get involved in undergraduate research. Browsing is not a bad idea since the search tool is a bit limited. There is a getting started section, and so much more, even a lab notebook section!
Community of Science (COS) Electronic Funding Databases (PIVOT) is accessible to you because The New School subscribes to it. Go to this site and then “create an account” then you can choose your institutional affiliation which gives you access. Opening an account allows you to save searchers, track individual records, and receive news from the database. If you are having trouble accessing contact the librarians or Paul Abruzzo from Library Services. Click here for a TNS COS PIVOT Advanced Search Tips and instructions as well or use the Library Guides.
WayUp is a comprehensive website with resume, interview, cover letter support and a database of evolving opportunities, and a place to host your CV/ Resume and get noticed!
Health Career Connections is a full service database and mentoring program for paid ($3000- 4000K) 10-week internships in health (community, data, advocacy, research, etc). They offer webinars weekly in the fall and you must apply to the database by December.
Ecojobs is a database of employment opportunities focused on ecology and the environment
Natural Resources Jobs Board is a database of employment opportunities
City Internships is a database and support team that has a tuition cost, and offers scholarships and financial assistance (see Fund Your Future). CI guides you through a successful process with support throughout. The programs may be undertaken year-round, in-person or remotely, and full- or part-time, during vacations or term time, and are structured around work placements with employers across 9 industries and 20 cities. Most are in finance, as that is their origin, but they have quite a few in politics, green energy, engineering, arts, design.
National Association for Health Advisors Pre-Health Positions; Shadowing etc
Association for Medical Colleges List of Programs for Public Health and Medicine
Expanding Your Skill Set & Knowledge Base
A number of free online short courses of 6-20 hours are available in sustainable development, global health, public health and provide certificates that can be added to your CV and LinkedIn profile and go a long way to showing your future mentors, advisors, supervisors, and employers your initiative and curiosity to be a life long learner. See this page for a list of these courses and certificates, and many focus on social justice, and have free webinars as well such as the American Public Health Association with a focus on racial equity, climate and health and the Columbia University grand rounds for public health and narrative medicine.
Human Research Subjects Protections
If you are going to be working as a research coordinator, research assistant for clinical studies, or social science studies that use human research subjects be sure to complete this OIR/ HHS interactive training guide for research integrity and review the National Institutes of Health (NIH) research PDF guide that comes with quizzes. NOTE that starting in 2022, TNS will be subscribing to Citi a customized program of courses and certifications for research with human research subjects spanning social sciences, design, life science, and more. Please get in touch with the Office of Human Subjects Research to learn more about how to access these courses and certifications. Our subscription will gain you access to CITI Training: Link
US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Research Integrity Research Clinic & Research Lab
NIH Training Protection of Human Research Subjects has history, rules, & quizzes
University of New Hampshire Training Module on Human Subjects
Certificate Available
Office of Human Research Subjects Protections (OHRP) Video Webinars
The Lang Civic Engagement and Social Justice Office supports Summer Fellowships, trips and other activities that make you more competitive for other internships and fellowships and Eugene Lang College supports student driven work that happens outside the classroom, be it a summer certificate course, activist effort, or study abroad experience. See the list of opportunities at this Engaged Learning direct link for more information.
ASCB Lab Culture STEM REUs, tips on how to proceed in scientific research at the bench