By Adriana Ladera (other collaborators wanted!). Last updated 21 Dec. 2022.
New to the research scene? Have no fear! This page discusses tips for starting undergraduate research, or if you're a seasoned scientist looking for opportunities that might be outside of your university-- then the sections on the MIT Summer Research Program, Research Experiences for Undergraduates, Summer Research Early Identification Program, or Research Opportunities for International Students may be of interest to you.
Early on in your undergraduate career, it’s totally normal to not have any research experience yet. The best point to start is with a general idea of something that you might be interested in, and the best place to get acquainted with the research process is at your undergraduate institution.
Next, think about what department your topic might reside in. Are you interested in water quality? You might want to check out the environmental engineering department’s website. Do you like automata theory or programming languages? That would probably be in the computer science department. Or maybe you’re interested in the structure-property relationship of hybrid materials, in which case it would be fair to look towards materials science and engineering. Keep in mind that many of these topics can also be cross-listed across different departments (i.e. materials design research may also appear in physics departments or electrical engineering just as well as materials science, or signal processing may appear in the departments of mathematics and computer science as well), so be sure that you scout these other departments to ensure that you’re maximizing your research opportunities!
Finally, the last and final step is to reach out to professors whose research you’re interested in. On your department(s)’s web page, there are often descriptions of the research conducted within those departments as well as links to the websites of respective affiliated professors. After reviewing their research, narrow your choices to the few professors whose research interests match your own and email them expressing your interest. Oftentimes, these professors may ask to set up a meeting, ask for your resume or CV, or just ask more about why you’re interested in their lab. This is relatively low pressure and is normally just so the professor can gauge your interest and figure out what projects may be best for you to try out in their lab.
Once you’ve found a research lab match with a professor, there may be an official onboarding process regarding pay or voluntary work, but in other words, congrats– you’re beginning to pave the way for your future career in research!
The MIT Summer Research Program (MSRP) is a 10-week summer research internship at MIT, dedicated to exposing talented and historically underrepresented minority students to graduate STEM education and research experience in their field of interest at MIT. The program is open to both U.S. national and international students, so long as the international student is attending a U.S.-based institution.
Aside from working closely with a faculty mentor or research mentor towards a 10-week project goal, MSRP interns gain the opportunity to understand graduate education through departmental information sessions, weekly research presentations, and guidance for writing a graduate statement of purpose. Additionally, interns can attend several social events, including pod activities, mingling with other interns, and other fun end-of-the-summer surprises!
More information on the program overview, research mentorship, and applicant eligibility can be found here.
Two main things that MSRP deeply cares about is (i) STEM experience, and (ii) (STEM) experience for historically underrepresented identities– i.e. your contributions and plans for increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM.
STEM Background: A summary of your research experience to date. The essay question sometimes varies in length and specifics, but one theme that remains is your ability to describe at least one committed research experience in detail. Be sure to discuss its relevance, your contributions to the project, and its potential applications or your future work in this direction. The goal in this essay question is to convey to application reviewers your ability to communicate research concepts and provide a deeper understanding of how your research involvement impacts your area of study.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI): With respect to the Additional Eligibility Criteria , applicants must be able to write not only about their historically underrepresented identity in STEM, but also their contributions and/or plans to promote DEI in their area of study, the broad STEM field, or their community. As a reviewer, a common mistake I notice is an applicant focusing too heavily on their own identity without mentioning their involvement or future plans for DEI initiatives, which makes it difficult for reviewers to determine the leadership abilities of the applicant. It is important in this essay question to relate your experience as a person of a historically underrepresented identity to your commitment to DEI in STEM and the broader community.
If you are interested in a faculty member for your MSRP experience, do not contact your desired faculty member outside of the MSRP program. Professors are usually very busy, and while they are almost always excited to mentor new students, very often students’ attempts= to contact them get lost among the flurry of other emails they receive. MSRP usually limits applicants from contacting faculty for this reason, and will instead match you with participating faculty mentors themselves based on the research interests mentioned in your application. Additionally, if you have a faculty mentor you’re interested in working with for MSRP that is not on the MSRP interested faculty list, you can still add them to your application, and MSRP will do their best to either contact this faculty member or match you with a faculty mentor of similar research interests.
Adriana Ladera, 2021 MSRP Intern and 2023 MSRP Application Review Committee
Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) are a fantastic opportunity for students to get involved in research early on in their undergraduate career. REU students have the opportunity to contribute to a research project under the supervision of a faculty member and other researchers, often graduate students or postdocs. Funding is provided and often housing and travel accommodations are also made. Several universities can host REU programs, but while all REU programs receive the same funding, not all REU programs have the same application requirements. Please visit the host site for your REU program of interest to view their specific application materials. Students who receive funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) through an REU program must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Please contact the host site for your REU program of interest if you have further questions on the eligibility requirements. More information on REU programs as well as a list of REUs by subject can be found directly from the NSF site.
The Summer Research Early Identification Program (SR-EIP), similar to MRSP or an REU, is a paid research experience in which a student has the opportunity to conduct research working closely with a faculty member and/or research mentor. Students also receive mentorship in professional development and crafting graduate school applications, as well as practicing their scientific communication skills through oral and poster presentation sessions. SR-EIP interns conduct research at participating Leadership Alliance institutions, including Ivy League institutions, Vanderbilt University, Caltech, and University of Chicago. A single application is sent to three different Leadership Alliance institutions for review based on the institutions preferences of the applicant. More information on SR-EIP can be found here.
Many talented international students studying in the United States are denied strong research opportunities simply because of U.S. funding restrictions. However, there are programs that make exceptions for these rules. Rather than provide a poor list highlighting some of the research opportunities that are available to international students, I’ve linked amazing and comprehensive lists of these international student-friendly research programs, courtesy of this list from the University of Rochester, which includes internships from American Physical Society + IBM, DAAD Rise Germany, and NASA, and this extensive list from the University of Michigan, which shares health, science, and research summer programs that are available to international students in the U.S. Do take note that some of the internships and programs appear in both lists.