Research studentship

Our research studentships provide funding for undergraduate students to undertake a 6-week practical research project.

Each year, as part of the Biochemical Society's Summer Vacation Studentship scheme, we offer undergraduates the opportunity to develop and use computational and/or laboratory skills by funding a 6-week laboratory visit anywhere in the world.

Eligibility criteria:

These studentships are available for undergraduate students in biochemistry, molecular bioscience and related subjects.
Students take up the award during one of the middle summer(s) of their undergraduate degree.
- For example, students carrying out a three year undergraduate course are eligible in their second year of study. Students carrying out a four year course are eligible in their second or third years of study.
Research studentships are open to overseas students and mature students, and can be carried out in the UK or overseas.
Students do not need to be members of the Biochemical Society to apply.
The named supervisor must be a member of the Biochemical Society to apply for the research studentship, and each supervisor may only apply for sponsorship of one student per round of applications. Once an award has been offered to a named student it cannot be transferred to another student.
Students can only apply for one Biochemical Society studentship.

Studentship students working in a lab — Evelyn Thesia
Biochemistry student, Loughborough University

Research studentship

What will the studentship involve?

The student will work within a research group on a specified project for 6 weeks, with a dedicated supervisor, in an area of molecular bioscience.

The project can be a computational biology/bioinformatics based project, a laboratory based project or a mixture of both.

The studentship can be hosted by any relevant organisation, such as a university, a company in industry or a research institute.

If the studentship is being hosted at a university, this does not need to be the same university that the student attends, i.e., it can be at any convenient institution.

Studentship funding

Students will be awarded a stipend of £400.40 per week for 6 weeks, to support the students’ living costs for the duration of the placement. The stipend is based on a 35 hour week at £11.44/hour (National Living Wage).

The research group will cover consumables and costs associated with the research.

The student will receive the grant at the beginning of the studentship.

Students will also be awarded a one-year undergraduate membership of the Biochemical Society. Read more about the benefits of Society membership here, which includes discounted registration fees for training courses and events.

The application process

The student and project supervisor apply for the studentship together through a joint online application.

The student should start the application and invite their supervisor as a collaborator.

Each supervisor may only apply for sponsorship of one student per round of applications and the supervisor must be a member of the Biochemical Society upon applying.

Outcome of applications

Following the review process, the supervisor and student will be informed of the outcome of their application.

Once an award has been offered to a named student it cannot be transferred to another student.

During the studentship

Supervisors, and relevant staff/students in the research group, will be required to support the student throughout the 6-week studentship. Support must be offered with the project itself as well as with skills and career development.

Students should document their research project throughout the studentship. This should include the overall aim of the project, the materials and methods used and the project results, in order to submit a report at the end of the studentship.

Students are encouraged to keep track of any skills they have developed over the course of the placement, both technical and transferable, and any impact the project has had on their potential future career.

They are also encouraged to develop their own blog about their studentship, and to update the Society on their placement using social media by tagging us on Instagram @officialbiochemsoc, on LinkedIn or on X @BiochemSoc.

End of studentship report

It is a condition of the award that the student subsequently submits a project report and a photo of themselves and the supervisor that can be uploaded onto our website.

The research studentship report should summarise:

Aims of the project
Methods used
Results and outcomes of studentship, including any relevant figures
Future directions in which the project could be taken
Departures from original project plan
Value of studentship to the student, focusing on skills developed (technical and transferable) and contribution to future career plans
Value of studentship to the research group

The report should be no more than 2 sides of A4.

Examples of reports by previous students can be found here.

The deadline to complete and send your report is 1 October 2024.