Biology Research Opportunities

Research in Classes

A strength of the Gustavus Biology program is the significant in-class research (ICR) projects that take place during all four years of study. ICR experiences are introduced early in the Biology core courses and provide you with marketable skills, a learning challenge, an enhanced application to graduate and professional schools, and an opportunity for pride in one's accomplishments. Through in class research, you will master advanced methods in cell culture, information literacy, field data collection, statistics and more. Learn More about Research in Classes.

Why Do Additional Research?

There are many opportunities to do research beyond what is required in your courses. There are lots of myths about faculty-student research, scholarship and creativity as well as many good reasons why students should get involved. Learn more about doing research outside of class assignments.

Summer Research

There are many opportunities on campus for students to engage in research and scholarship in the summer. Student-faculty collaborations involve in-depth, faculty-sponsored inquiry projects in any discipline. Summer projects may be a research assistant-ship working in a faculty member's lab or on a faculty-driven research project, an independently-conceived student project with a faculty member as a mentor, or an equal partnership between a faculty member and a student. Learn more about summer research opportunities.

Innovation Scholars Program

Innovation Scholars Program offers high-impact experiential learning internships at the intersection of science, healthcare, and entrepreneurship for outstanding liberal arts students from Gustavus and other Minnesota private colleges. Working at the Mayo Clinic and with Medical Alley affiliated companies doing early-stage project development, students are a part of a cross-disciplinary team tackling real-world challenges in biomedical and health care technology transfer and entrepreneurship. For more information about the program, please visit the Mayo Innovation Scholars site or the staff in the Gustavus Center for Career Development Center.

The Rubert Anderson Award in Systematics

A great way to learn about organismal diversity is to work with a specimen collection. The Gustavus Biology Department has several opportunities to work with plant and animal collections! In order to share our insect, plant, and vertebrate collections with a larger community we are in the process of organizing and displaying information, including images, about the specimens in our collections online. Learn more about the opportunities in digitizing our collections.

Swanson-Holcomb Undergraduate Research Grants

Gustavus administers the Swanson-Holcomb Undergraduate Research funds to provide additional supplies to enable an undergraduate research project. Look at the grant site to learn more about proposal expectations and deadlines.

First-year Research Experience (FYRE) Program

The First-Year Research Experience (FYRE) Program is dedicated to providing opportunities for students to engage in bona fide research experiences during the summer between their first and second years with a Gustavus faculty mentor in the Natural Sciences and Mathematics. This program is aimed to improve the learning experiences for students interested in biology and/or chemistry early in their undergraduate careers.

Midstates Consortium for Math and Science

The Midstates Consortium for Mathematics and Science is a partnership between two research universities: The University of Chicago and the Washington University in St. Louis and ten liberal arts colleges, including Gustavus Adolphus. Each of these institutions is committed to promoting excellence in undergraduate education in mathematics and science with a particular emphasis on undergraduate research. The Consortium provides high-quality and flexible professional development opportunities for students and faculty, two annual symposia on undergraduate research, and exchange programs that support visits of students and faculty members to other member schools to give presentations or to enhance research collaborations.

Summer Research At Other Institutions

Summer research opportunities exist in ecology, chemistry, genetics, cell biology, aquatic biology, conservation, physiology, entomology, plant biology, behavior, neuroscience, and more. You can interact with other undergraduates, researchers, and graduate students. Typically summer researchers are paid a stipend and living expenses. Deadlines for applications range from early January to mid-March. 

Popular Places to Search for a Summer Research Position

Pathways to Science

Visit Pathways to Science  to explore internships or research opportunities available for Summer. This site is sponsored by NSF and NASA.

Finding Summer Research Advice

  • Cast a broad net, geographically and biologically. Places on the coast, prestigious universities or beautiful locales are highly competitive, as are ones that explicitly mention medicine. See the opportunities in other possibilities.
  • You have a better chance if you talk about what skills you bring to the program, not just what you will get out of it. Think about what you are interested in and what might you do while you are there. This means you need to do your homework and see what kinds of projects different professors do and how it intersects with your interests. Be specific. Articulating a potential project does not mean you are locked into doing it, rather you are showing the selection committee that you are capable of acting and thinking like a scientist. 
  • Juniors have a better chance than sophomores, but don't let that dissuade you from trying.
  • There are many Gustavus seniors that have been successful at gaining summer research - seek them out for advice. (Your advisor may be able to provide specific names when given permission.)