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Summer Vacation Studentships

Research studentship

Our research studentships provide funding for undergraduate students to undertake a 4-6 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 4-6 week laboratory visit anywhere in the world.

Please note that this scheme provides funding for an independently organised studentship. Students must have already discussed and confirmed their planned project with their supervisor before applying as we do not provide any projects and/or supervisors.

Eligibility criteria:

  • These studentships are available for undergraduate students in biochemistry, molecular bioscience and related subjects.

  • Students will take up the award during the summer vacation in the middle year(s) of their undergraduate degree. This can include:
    • Year 2 out of 3
    • Year 2 out of 4
    • Year 3 out of 4 (This is applicable for 4 year BSc courses only, and Integrated Masters courses/MSci are not included in this)
    • For students on longer degree terms e.g., on a 6-year Medical related degree, you would be eligible in Year 2, 3, 4 and 5.
    • First year and final year students are not eligible for this studentship, which includes those graduating in year 2026 and final year students on an integrated master’s degree.

  • Research studentships are open to overseas students and mature students, and can be carried out in the UK or overseas. 

  • Studentships can take place anytime between July-September.

  • 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.

Application deadline

Applications for 2025 are now closed.

“

I applied for the scheme as it is an excellent opportunity to get more laboratory experience outside academia. Not only did I learn so much in that short period, but I also got to experience what life could be like after graduating and opened myself to more options in the future.

“ 
Studentship students working in a lab
Evelyn Thesia

Biochemistry student, Loughborough University

The student will work within a research group on a specified project for 4-6 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.

Students will be awarded a stipend of £427.35 per week for a maximum of 6 weeks, to support the students’ living costs for the duration of the placement. The stipend is based on a 35 hour week at £12.21/hour (National Living Wage).

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

The stipend is paid to the host institution 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, including discounted registration fees for training courses and events.

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.

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.

Supervisors, and relevant staff/students in the research group, will be required to support the student throughout the 4-6 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 update the Society on their placement using social media by tagging us on Instagram @officialbiochemsoc, on Bluesky @biochemsoc.bsky.social and on LinkedIn or on X @BiochemSoc.

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 2025.

“

We think it’s really important to provide work experience opportunities so students can see what options they have outside of academia. The 6-week timescale meant Evelyn could get hands on and had the time to practice her new lab skills on an early-stage R&D project. We were very happy we could provide Evelyn with the opportunity to see what it’s like to work in a biotech company.

“ 
supervisor
Mandy Nicolle

Head of Research - Biology, Biocleave

Contact us

For further information, please get in touch with the Grants department.

Eisenthal Prize

Congratulations to Cherry Marsh who won the Eisenthal prize in 2024! 

The Eisenthal prize is presented to the top awardee each year, based on their application score and post-studentship report.  

Read Cherry's Report

Related grants

Please find other related funding opportunities below.

Student Opportunities Grants
Group of students collaborating
2024 recipients
Alexandra Tonby-Stranborg past recipient
External funding sources
Image of a female scientist in a lab
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