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Finding Paid Student Research Opportunities

Updated: Feb 2


Introduction

Research is expensive. You can improve your résumé or curriculum vitae (CV) and make yourself a more impressive candidate by applying for sponsored research funding. Seeking funding as early as during your undergraduate studies will allow you time to develop grants prospecting and writing skills before you are a senior-level researcher.


Detailed below are differences between funding types, tips on prospecting, and necessary information that may be required for inclusion as part of application packages. Further included are links for credible funding opportunities.



Paid Research Experiences for Undergraduates

Undergraduate students should search for available paid research experiences for undergraduates (REUs).


Beyond the Geographical Scope

These opportunities may enable students opportunities to conduct research outside of their geographical areas and be mentored by PIs whom they otherwise may be unable to meet.

Stipend Benefits

More Information



Grants and Paid Assistantships and Fellowships


Grants fund basic, clinical, and translational research programs and projects. These programs and projects are classified as sponsored research. Sponsored research funding sources include government (local, state, federal); foundations; corporations; and industry (biotechnology).


At a student level, opposed to a Principal Investigator (PI; usually, academic faculty), grants tend to be the least amount of monies awarded when compared to funded assistantships and fellowships.


Specific budgetary allocations and restrictions are usually associated with grant funding. You can explore prospective grant funding for both specific topics, and broad ranges of topics. Professional societies and organizations sometimes offer requests for proposals (RFPs) for members (membership-only), and nonmembers (general public).

Paid Assistantships offer funding for specific jobs. Assistantships can be funded for an extended period of time (e.g., one year to the full length of a PhD degree program). These opportunities are often funded through stipends, and may even include tuition reimbursement or waiver. They do not fund research, as opposed to grants.


Teaching Assistantships

Teaching Assistantships may be offered through your program department to assist with an undergraduate course or lab assignment.

Research Assistantships

Writing Assistantships


Paid Fellowships offer funding for your position and research. Some fellowship opportunities are more interested in who they are funding, while others are most interested in what they are funding. As you research fellowship opportunities, you will learn more about these scopes based on application requirements.


Fellowships can be funded for an extended period of time (e.g., one year or more, depending on their structure and funding availability).


Paid fellowship opportunities offer competitive stipend and research funds, and sometimes tuition reimbursement or waiver. They may be offered through your college/university or through federally funded agencies, such as the NSF or National Institutes of Health (NIH).



Funding Prospecting: Step-by-Step Guidance

Funding is typically field-specific, with some fields having more opportunities than others. Here are some tips on how to find available opportunities:


Scientific Literature

Conduct environmental scans covering scientific literature authored by students and professionals in your field of interest. Read acknowledgement/funding sections and take note of these entities.

Scientific Research Posters

Academia Connections

Local Academia

Professional Societies and Organizations

Tuition Support Options



Funding Application Components

Student-level grant applications typically require research proposals for specific studies. In my experience, this can be a short proposal with a word maximum or page limit. Some advise on word maximums—be sure to check the guidelines to see if there is an option to provide an appendix to your application, such as a graphical figure or abstract.


Budget justifications are often required for grants; more specifically, for those that offer a range of funds. Travel grants require that your abstract or presentation overview are on the academic research conference schedule. All grants may require a copy of your CV and supporting letters of reference (LORs).


Paid assistantship applications may be included as part of your graduate school applications, or may be an additional application through external entities. For paid research and teaching assistantship applications, required components will likely be the same as your graduate school application—CV, personal statement, and supporting LORs.


Paid fellowships are extremely competitive, and application components tend to be more detailed in requirements. These applications typically require a longer personal statement and research proposal. Application sections may include the following: background, intellectual merit, and broader impacts. More LORs may be necessary.



Selection of Current Paid Research Opportunities



A Note from the Editor

The Research Girl, Inc. Science Content, Communications, and Grants Team is developing a recurring feature on paid student research opportunities, and paid early career research opportunities, for the blog, e-newsletters, and social media communications.


If you are a student, academic faculty member, or staff member at a research institution and would like to share paid opportunities for inclusion across these content mediums, please contact Science Content and Communications Manager and Site Editor, Patricia Fortunato, at patricia@researchgirl.org

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