Dept. of Biology, Furman University

Finding Summer Research Opportunities

Dr. Haney acts as a general liaison to help in arranging summer research.  The main contact person for health-career internships is Dr. Thompson.  However,  in both cases it is very important for you to talk to other biology professors, and to seek out opportunities on your own.  The search for a suitable summer internship or research position must be an active one on your part.

Please fill in the form found outside Dr. Haney's office (237).  This form is intended to help us find suitable summer research opportunities for students who want them. If you hope to get a Furman Advantage Research Fellowship to work with a biology professor, you must complete this form. The form should be returned to Dr. Haney's mailbox in the biology office. Do not assume that you just fill in this form and then sit back and wait. Turning in the form is only the first step.

Other good sources of information about research opportunities include the black notebook on research opportunities that is kept in the Biology Commons Room (229) and the flip-file of advertisements on the wall opposite the biology office.

INTERNET INFORMATION:  You can also find information on the web.  Here are some suggestions.

ON-CAMPUS RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES:  A summary of  the research areas and interests of all of the Furman University Biology Faculty.

OFF-CAMPUS RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES:  A good listing of off-campus locations (e.g., Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, etc.) that at least one of the Furman Biology faculty have ties to.

NSF-REU:  A good place to start is the huge list of Research Experiences for Undergraduates sites sponsored by the National Science foundation.  NSF funds a large number of research opportunities for undergraduate students through its REU Sites program. An REU Site consists of a group of ten or so undergraduates who work in the research programs of the host institution. Each student is associated with a specific research project, where he/she works closely with the faculty and other researchers. Students are granted stipends and, in many cases, assistance with housing and travel. Undergraduate students supported with NSF funds must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States or its possessions. An REU Site may be at either a US or foreign location. Furman was an REU site in Biology from 1991-95, and currently Biology, Chemistry, and EES have an interdisciplinary REU program in place.  All the sites will be recruiting students to spend approximately 10 weeks doing research in the summer.  Some sites center their research around particular themes (e.g. molecular biology) while others are more broadly-based. At the NSF-REU site you can search for programs by discipline.

CUR:  Another good site is sponsored by the Council for Undergraduate Research. CUR promotes research by undergraduate students in all settings of science, mathematics, and engineering education, and has, among other information, many links to research opportunities for students.

For more help, speak to Dr. Haney or e-mail him at dennis.haney@furman.edu.