Biology Summer Internships for Undergraduates: A Comprehensive Guide

For undergraduate students passionate about biology, summer internships offer invaluable opportunities to gain practical experience, explore potential career paths, and contribute to cutting-edge research. This article provides a detailed overview of various biology-focused summer internships, catering to diverse interests from marine studies to public health.

Exploring Diverse Fields: From Marine Biology to Public Health

Biology is a vast field, and summer internships reflect this diversity. Students with an interest in marine studies, geology, and environmental sciences can find programs tailored to their specific passions. For example, the Great Lakes Commission-Sea Grant Fellowship allows students to work with experts in the Great Lakes region, advancing environmental quality and sustainable economic development goals. Similarly, internships focused on the Chesapeake Bay offer hands-on experience in marine biology and oceanography.

NOAA Opportunities: Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship Program

The NOAA Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship Program is a prestigious opportunity for rising junior undergraduate students majoring in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields that directly support NOAA's mission. This program provides scholarships for two years of undergraduate study and includes two paid summer internships at a NOAA facility. The internship between the first and second years of the award provides the scholars with hands-on practical educational training experience in NOAA-related science, research, technology, policy, management, and education activities. Participants conduct research at a NOAA facility during two paid summer internships.

Research-Intensive Programs: Gaining Laboratory Experience

Many summer internships emphasize research experience, providing students with the opportunity to work alongside faculty supervisors in designing and conducting research projects. These internships often culminate in a report based on the results of their research. Some programs, like those at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in the Republic of Panama, offer research experiences in specific areas of expertise. Other opportunities include instrumentation development, dynamical modeling, or even participation in a research cruise. Students can conduct original research in one of several fields of Oceanography.

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health: Summer Internship Program (SIP)

The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health's Summer Internship Program (SIP) offers college science students an opportunity to experience the rewards of laboratory research directed toward solving important public health problems. This intensive 8-week laboratory-based biological research program is for undergraduates during the summer following their sophomore or junior years. The program goal is to expose college science students (who will be juniors or seniors in the fall of 2026) to the rewards of laboratory research directed toward solving important public health problems. The overall mission of the program is to recruit qualified students for graduate-level training leading to research careers in the biological sciences. Interns apply state-of-the art technology in their own research projects under the direction of a Harvard faculty member. Research projects focus on biological science questions that are important to the prevention of disease.

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Key Features of the Harvard SIP:

Duration: 8 weeks
Financial Support: A stipend of $3,600, a travel allowance of up to $600, and free dormitory housing at Emmanuel College.
Career Development: Career and Professional Development Workshops equip SIP students with skills that will help them prepare for and succeed in graduate school and during the program and provide SIP students with opportunities to connect with graduate students and faculty.
Eligibility: To qualify for this Harvard T.H.

Application Process for Harvard SIP:

Complete the online application.
Submit a personal statement that should not be longer than 1 page describing your academic and professional interests, your reason for applying to the program, the insight you hope to gain from the program, and the ways the program will influence your academic trajectory. We also encourage you to review our primary faculty and include your research interests in the essay along with 1 to 3 research labs that fit those research interests.

University of Pennsylvania Summer Undergraduate Internship Program (SUIP)

The University of Pennsylvania Summer Undergraduate Internship Program (SUIP) is a prestigious 10-week immersive research experience for undergraduate students aspiring to pursue doctoral studies (PhD or MD-PhD) in the biomedical sciences. The program offers a rigorous, hands-on research training opportunity, pairing interns with a Principal Investigator (PI) based on shared research interests. Under the mentorship of PIs and lab members, interns gain critical laboratory and analytical skills essential for graduate school and future careers in biomedical research. In addition to laboratory work, interns engage in cutting-edge scientific seminars, professional development workshops, and graduate school preparation sessions, designed to enhance their research acumen and academic readiness.

Key Features of SUIP:

Duration: 10 weeks
Program Dates: Monday, June 1, 2026 to Friday, August 7, 2026 (tentative move-in dates: Saturday, May 30, 2026 and Sunday, May 31, 2026).
Affiliated Programs: SUIP-CCI (Center for Cell and Immunotherapies), SUIP-CFAR (Center for AIDS Research), and SUIP-PERFORM-KUH (Scholars Kidney, Urology, and Hematology). Students are selected to the affiliated programs based on their research interests. Applicants do not need to complete a separate application to be considered for these programs. All compensation is the same as the general SUIP.
Center for Cellular Immunotherapies: The Center for Cellular Immunotherapies hosts a Summer Undergraduate Internship Program in cancer and cellular immunotherapies. Participating laboratories have the general goal of understanding how the immune system interacts with cancer and developing interventions to improve anti-tumor immunity. The program also offers a specialized track with an emphasis on bioinformatics in cancer immunotherapy. This track focuses on computational and data-driven approaches to analyze immunological and cancer-related datasets and complements the experimental research conducted in participating laboratories. This track also includes a Spring bioinformatics course that is conducted virtually.
SUIP-CFAR (Center For AIDS Research): Scholars will engage in mentored HIV/AIDS research. Research topics include HIV basic/translational science, clinical/behavioral science, implementation science, and HIV prevention research.
Mentorship: The Office of Research Trainee Affairs Fellows, who are current graduate students or postdoctoral fellows, will serve as mentors for summer interns. Fellows will lead programming, team building activities, and excursions to explore Philadelphia.
Summer Seminar Series: SUIP sponsors the Summer Seminar Series, a sequence of talks about timely issues in biomedical sciences presented by distinguished Biomedical Graduate Studies faculty.
Extracurricular Activities: Interns enjoy a variety of events including concerts and performances, trips to local museums, visits to historical sites, and social events with current graduate students and program staff.

Application Process for SUIP:

Applications for SUIP 2026 open on October 1st, 2025 via the Penn application. All applications are due on February 1st, 2026 by 11:59 pm Eastern Time.
Completed online application form via Penn’s application, or via the Leadership Alliance.
In the “Recommendations” section, please provide the contact information for two (2) recommenders.
Applicants will be asked to select a graduate group of interest. If applicants are interested in an affiliate program, applicants can indicate their choice in this section. For those applicants interested in PERFORM-KUH the best spot to indicate this is where it asks for your major scientific interests.
Submit a 2-page document (8.5”x11”) with a minimum of 0.5’ margins and at least 11 pt font, describe your meaningful research experiences and career goals, highlighting how your personal history and experiences have shaped your motivation to pursue a PhD, as well as the challenges you have overcome in accessing research opportunities.
Your transcript must include all semesters/terms attended at your primary institution. Please also include any study abroad transcripts.
Two letters of recommendation are required. Letters from academic faculty who know you personally and can comment on your academic abilities and your aptitude for research are highly encouraged.

Holistic Evaluation:

Our holistic evaluation process considers all components of the application. The research and personal statement should describe your meaningful research experiences and career goals, highlighting how your personal history and experiences have shaped your motivation to pursue a PhD, as well as the challenges you have overcome in accessing research opportunities.The letters of recommendation should include at least one from a research mentor, preferably the most recent one.

Additional Internship Programs

Young Scholars Program (YSP): A six-week residential science and mathematics summer program for Florida high school students.
CanSUR Program: Cancer-focused Summer Undergraduate Research (CanSUR) a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded program.
SENIC REU Program: The SENIC REU program consists of an intensive 10 week summer research experience at the Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology, Georgia Institute.
Aquarium Internships: The Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association (MMA) is offering four internships at its Aquarium during the summer season.
Amgen Scholars Program: The Amgen Scholars Program is designed to recruit exceptional students interested in careers in biological and biomedical sciences with an intensive 1.

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