Getting a Summer Research, Industrial or Non-profit Internship

1. Getting a Summer Research, Industrial or Non-profit Internship Dr. Sumana Datta Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Research Texas A&M University

2. Why do an internship or research? -- Practical Goals. Learn material in your major by hands-on work outside the classroom. Develop a one-on-one mentoring relationship with a professor. Find out what you like and don’t like to do. Improve your resume. Get more informative letters of recommendation for jobs, graduate or professional school applications. Find out more about what being a professional in your area is like.

3. Research versus Internship Can be virtually interchangeable. Internship generally refers to experience in corporate or non-profit setting. But you can do research at a company or non-profit as well! Research=analysis=exploration=R&D Either way, you are looking for hands-on experience in your field!

4. Why do research/internship? -- Improve your skills. Learn how to work in teams to accomplish a goal. Learn how to explain and defend your results. Learn advanced technical skills. Learn better problem solving skills. Learn better time-management skills.

5. Why do research/internship-- General Benefits More likely to stay enrolled and to graduate. Better integrated socially and academically into academic life. More likely to be able to continue education in professional or graduate programs. Greater satisfaction with undergraduate experience. More confidence in abilities. Develop a deeper understanding of field/major.

6. Why Summer Research/Internship? Concentrate on your research full-time. Meet and work with researchers at other institutions. Try something completely different that might depend on geography/location. Develop additional contacts for jobs, professional or graduate school. Live and explore somewhere else for a summer. “Test” a place you might want to go after graduation.

7. First questions to ask yourself: What do you want to do? Where do you want to go? Is there something you would never want to do? Is there someplace you would never want to go?

8. What types of programs are available? Arts Social Sciences Humanities Business Publishing Entertainment Human Resources Medical/Humanitarian

9. Humanities and Social Science SOME of the areas are: Political science Economics Psychology Sociology Law Cultural anthropology Criminal justice English History Art and art history Ethnomusicology Television production

10. Humanities and Social Science Some of the places you can go are: University of Washington, Seattle, Washington. Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey. NYU, New York, New York. UCLA, Los Angeles, California Stanford University, Palo Alto, California Columbia University, New York, New York. Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York.

11. What do most (but not all) summer research programs provide? Place to live Food Stipend, generally about $4000 Enrichment experiences-seminars, workshops, tours, field trips. Research internship of about 10 weeks.

12. Be sure to ask about: How they match you to a project or research advisor. Health insurance/medical requirements. Help with travel costs to and from the site. Start and end dates. Transportation and safety around the site late at night or on weekends. Availability of peer mentors. Whether you will need to enroll for the summer. Social or other extra-curricular activities offered.

13. Requirements for summer programs Current undergraduate status. Most request sophomore or junior status. Coursework appropriate to your status and relevant to the area of the summer internship. Other requirements vary by program! Some require a minimum GPA. REU Programs-US citizens or permanent resident. Some target under-represented populations, women, ethnic minorities or first generation/low income college students.

14. Where and how do I find them? Google “Undergraduate Research Program” and the field you are interested in (as globally or specifically as you want). Go to http://ugr.tamu.edu/ then Opportunities -> External Opportunities Ask your academic advisor—some departments have faculty and staff whose job it is to help place you in an internship! Is there a specific group you want to work with? Familiarize yourself with them and then contact them directly! Go to the Career Center! They have experts and workshops on Internship opportunities. HireAggies.com. .com.com

15. Public Policy Internship (www.tamu.edu/ppip) Texas A&M has its own summer programs! Public Policy Internship Program in Washington, D.C. (deadline Sept 20th at noon) Non-profits Government agencies Think tanks Public Policy Internship Program in Paris. (deadline Sept 20th at noon) US Commercial Service Public Policy Internship Program in Austin (deadline Oct 15th at noon)

16. Tinstman Fellowship/Internship For spring 2011 semester in Midland, TX $1500/semester stipend Work with non-profit United Way Any major acceptable Strong history of volunteer or non-profit activity preferred. Deadline for application: Sept 30th http://www.uwtexas.org/member-services/Tinstman_Fellowship

17. International Summer Internships You do not always have to speak the local language. Many of the top research institutions in Europe (for example) use English as the “professional” language. But speaking the local language might help you in daily life there! Check out the search engines or listings at the UGR website under either International Opportunities or Summer Research Opportunities -> National Science Foundation-> International.

18. Companies/Foundations Google http://www.google.com/support/jobs/bin/static.py?page=students.html&sid=intern Microsoft Doctors without Borders American Society of Magazine Editors National Endowment for the Arts Sierra Club ABC News State Farm Meredith Corp (media) Wiley publishing Disney Environmental Protection Agency American Cancer Society Also check out for more options: http://depts.washington.edu/eip/research.htm http://www.urop.uci.edu/opportunities/frame_offcampus.html

19. What is the timeline? Application deadlines range from early February through March, but some are earlier. Do NOT ask your professor to write you a letter at the last minute—that almost guarantees that the letter is not as good as you might wish. Many require a letter of recommendation and a short essay describing your interests or goals. Some may require an official transcript.

20. How do I apply? Application forms can generally be found online at the program’s website. Sometimes you may have to email or call the contact person listed to receive an application. You may have to download, fill in and mail a paper application—factor that into your timeframe!

21. Continuing sources of information Undergraduate Research Listserv http://ugr.tamu.edu/resources/undergraduate-research-listserv.html Undergraduate Research webpage http://ugr.tamu.edu/ Office of Proposal Development Funding Opportunities ? Funding Opportunities by Category ? Undergraduate Research Opportunities

22. Need to take summer classes? Try looking for a part-time research position here at Texas A&M! Research for credit hours. Research for pay (if your professor has the funds). You may be able to do the research during the summer and pay for the credit hours in the fall. The Glasscock Center for the Humanities

23. How to find and approach a professor Read their webpage first! Contact them early (at least before spring break). Have a suggestion as to what part of their research interests you the most. Have a short resume with your contact information, any previous experience, relevant courses and references. Try to meet them face-to-face rather than emailing.

24. General Tips Start EARLY (end of fall semester or beginning of spring semester!). Prioritize applications by deadline and effort required. Ask for letters from your professors now or soon. Don’t worry about asking for multiple letters—it’s easy to edit once the letter is written.

25. Questions?Contact Info:Office of Undergraduate Researchugr@tamu.edu458-0039