Where can I find science internships to get published with an undergrad degree.

Hi there, I am looking to strengthen a potential future masters application in oncology.

I know there are internships students do to undertake grouped research projects where they can participate and get published in some sort of student journal.

I am looking for an internship to partake so I can strengthen my resume when I apply!

Does anyone know of any? preferrably in london! and for a summer sort of thing or like a 6-month programme.

Thank you!

Reply 1

Abbey199515

Internship no, however for the past 6 years (I'm currently applying for a masters!) I've worked at a company that specialises in Real-World Evidence, so we collect and process a lot of data for clients, and I've been published over 40 times now in Oncology. Could be a potential route although I don't know how soon you'd be able to author a publication as it depends what project they'd put you on (it's also a desk job so I'm unsure on whether that's what you'd be looking for!).

Reply 2

Cranfield University

Official Rep

Original post by sunshine1541

Hi @sunshine1541

Great that you are interested in such an important field!

Strengthening your application for a masters can be done in many ways, and while publishing is one of the best ways to do that, it’s not the only way.
Looking at research groups who are actively publishing in the field you are interested in (within oncology there are many different types of research) might let you join a project where they are nearing publication, and if you could get involved then you may be able to contribute enough to be counted as an author. However, a lot of the time being an author on these papers as a short-term lab member (either on a short research assistant contract or doing an internship) can be more luck than anything else. If your stay at the lab doesn’t overlap with the right stage in the publication process (if they are writing the grant proposal, or just optimising the methods, or in the review process, you are unlikely to be able to join those activities) or if the project doesn’t have the scope for an additional person (sometimes the lab work is a one-person job, because of the nature of the equipment) you wouldn’t be an author. However, you would likely still really strengthen your application.

I would encourage you to think about the skills developed during internships (either in a commercial or academic setting), rather than just ‘hard’ outputs (like published papers).
- Developing technical skills (during my internship I learned to maintain cultured cells, and how to use them in several different enzymatic assays).
- Experimental design, problem solving, and results interpretation (e.g. developing a hypothesis, deciding how best to test it, and adjusting the methods or hypothesis as needed).
- Formally writing your results (this can be paper or report style, and may depend on what kind of internship you do).
- Working as a part of a team (even if you have an individual research project, the training will likely be given by other lab members, and your results may feed into a larger project for the lab).
- Presenting results (if you go into an academic lab, you might present your results in a lab meeting. In industry, you might present an overview of the work you did while there, whether that is lab-based or otherwise).

You mentioned “some sort of student journal” – you may already be eligible for this. I did my undergrad in Trinity College Dublin, where they have a review publication for undergraduate students (linked below):
https://trinityssr.com/
Since you have likely written a review during your undergrad, if your university has one I would encourage you to submit it (since you likely have nothing to lose). However, if they don’t, don’t be discouraged. Like I said above, publication at undergraduate level is not the be all and end all of an application – most people who are successful applicants won’t have one!

As for finding the right place to apply, I would consider both industry and academia. They will give you different insights, and which is better for you will depend entirely on your career goals. Industry has so many diverse roles, and so often advertise internships in places like LinkedIn.
If you choose academia, just send a polite email to the person who’s lab you would like to join, asking if you could do a project there (specifying how long approximately you would like to stay). Don’t be discouraged by any ‘no’s, lots of labs simply won’t have the space or funding for an additional person. But lots do, so just keep trying!

Best of luck finding something that will strengthen your application!

Ciara
3rd year Agrifood PhD student
Cranfield Student Ambassador