The earlier you can get to grips with the landscape and requirements of STEM research careers, the better. This will allow you to more effectively explore the vast field, and refine your thinking. Creative problem solvers should be driven to succeed, regardless of identity or background. Diverse scientific thinking is what will propel the world forward into the future.

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Getting experience

If you want to do a PhD (or another type of doctoral research programme), it is a good idea to get some practical experience of research beforehand. In fact, it is a good idea more generally because:

• Although having prior experience of research is not a requirement for getting a PhD (and lots of people who start a PhD don’t have it), it will almost certainly be helpful – not least because it demonstrates your interest in research.

• For some PhD funding programmes, as part of your application you may be required to sketch out your ideas for research – so experience could be helpful (but this is not the case for all programmes/applications).

• It will give you a taste of what doing research is actually like.

• If you aren’t planning to do a PhD but want to try to get a job as a Research Assistant or as a Research Technician, research experience is an effective way to stand out from other graduates.

Many universities now have schemes that allow current undergraduates to gain some experience of working in research.

These are often called ‘research internships’ (although they can be called summer research placements). A few universities have specific schemes for students from groups currently under represented in STEM.

Here are just a few examples (for opportunities at your institution try searching for your institution name and ‘research internship’. Some schemes are department-based, so you may also want to include your subject area):

Summer Research Placements - Biomedical, Nutritional and Sport Sciences | Newcastle University

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme | Imperial College London

Summer Research Internship Scheme 2022 | Coventry University Students' Union

Widening Participation Research Summer Internships | University of Bristol

On-campus internship opportunities | Cardiff University

Summer Research Lab Experience | ISMB

Some learned societies, such as the Royal Society, The Royal Society of Biology, and the Royal Society of Chemistry (which represent people working in a particular subject area) collate and offer opportunities too:

Undergraduate Studentships | Royal Society of Biology

Summer Vacation Studentships | Biochemical Society

Another option is to get research experience outside of universities, such as in a science company or charity. They may also call such opportunities ‘research internships’, but may just include them within their ‘summer internships’ (called as such because they are designed take place over the summer break). Several national websites exist which collate these opportunities together:

Science & Research Internships | e4s

Science & Research Internships and Placements | RateMyPlacement

Summer internship programme | University of Bristol