Gap year research

[bea524]

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I'm sure this has been asked thousands of times but I'm kind of in a rush. I'm completely new to the research thing but would like to get some experience (and not just because it adds to my app).

1. Is there a link to all the summer research programs available for students who just graduated?

2. Are these programs summer long or year long? (I've heard both from different people, one person even told me most of them require 2 years of commitment)

3. If you've never done undergrad research but still had a good understanding of techniques used in undergrad lab classes, do you have any chance of getting in?

4. Are there separate programs for URMs and if so could anyone link me to it?

appreciate any help

 

[bucks2010]

Search function much?

 

[bea524]

need some answers quickly, anyone got any...

 

[aSagacious]

It is quite common for recent graduates to work as lab techs for their gap year. First and foremost they make the lab run smoothly (which entails cleaning glassware, etc) but eventually most are given their own projects. I'd start browsing the research pages at your home institution and knocking on some doors to see if there are any positions available.

 

[luckyducky87]

I think the questions you ask are very general and you'll need to do some googling yourself... I would suggest first looking through some labs at your undergrad institution (and/or the medical school) and email PI's you might be interested in working for. Most of them may say no because they don't have room in their funding (I got a no from most PI's I emailed). You'll have to just keep asking as many as you can (without spam-mailing the whole department or something). Alternatively, you can look into national institutions like HHMI which has a bulletin board for PI's to post employment opportunities (which includes positions for research tech's).

How long you are hired for depends on the PI. Usually they want 1-2 years minimum because there is such a big learning curve for someone new. PI's don't want his postdocs/students spending time to train someone new, only to have that person leave after a few months... that's a waste of the lab's money and time. From what I gathered, "summer positions" are usually only through internship programs or defined summer programs (not labs you independently contact to ask for a position) where it's designed to be a summer-long educational program.

I think with no undergrad research experience, you might find it more difficult to find a research position, especially nowadays when most labs are suffering from funding shortage -- and especially if you're looking for a position where you can do actual research (rather than just making media and doing dishes for people). But I wouldn't say impossible. Some PI's are into the ideal of taking novices and training them to be successful scientists... Good luck!

 

[Frazier]

4. Are there separate programs for URMs and if so could anyone link me to it?

Yes, there are programs that seek URMS.
No, I do not have a link.