Preparing For A STEM Career

By  Rowan Rebecca Katzbaer, and Sarah Boehm, Ph.D.

 

Physics and Materials REU Programs at Pennsylvania State University in 2023

Preparing for a Career in Research

 What experiences are important to your career?

  • Co-ops (9 month) paid research opportunity
  • Internship (3 month) paid research opportunity
  • Research experience in academia lab (PREM & REU)
  • Research experience industry, government, or academia
  • Outreach/Involvement in clubs and organizations (leadership/teamwork)
  • STEM Open Houses and conferences

How do you find research opportunities?

For industry you can often look up companies directly. They may list internships you can apply for. The Research Experiences for Undergraduate (REU) programs supports active research participation by undergraduate students in any of the areas of research funded by the NSF. Students must be U.S. citizen, U.S. nationals, or permanent residents of the United States. Search the NSF website here. These programs are paid research for 10 weeks, travel and housing included.

Application to Graduate School

 What goes in an application package?

  • Letters of Recommendation/Reference (2 – 3)
  • Transcripts (typical GPA requirement 3.0)
  • Personal Statement/Research interests
  • Include 2 – 3 faculty you are interested in working with
  • Resumé

 What should a personal statement look like?

  • Outreach: Teaching, Science Engagement
  • Leadership: Organizing Events, Elected Positions
  • Extracurriculars: Clubs, Sports, Jobs (outside research), Tutoring
  • Publications (rare, be sure to highlight)

Research experience:

  • What did you do?
  • What methods did you use/learn?
  • What where your results?
  • What impact did your research have? Publications, presentations, preliminary data for future work, etc.
  • How did it influence what you know? Is it still what you want to do now?
  • CAR: Challenge, Approach, & Result

Who do you want to work for?

  • Tell us who you want to work with & why?? Why does their research interest you? Provide at least 3 names.
  • Show familiarity with Departmental, College, & University initiatives
  • Look up faculty members recent publications – make sure they are still active or at that University. Research Gate, & Google Scholar
  • Contact professors before applying (Don’t be surprised if they don’t respond).

What about this school is a good fit for you?

  • Name specific initiatives you’d like to get involved in
  • Ensure continuity of trajectory
  • Make your application tells a “whole story”
  • Proofread before you send it out

Application to Fellowships

What is a fellowship?

A fellowship is funding given to you for graduate school. In STEM your program generally will pay you a stipend to cover cost of living. The lab you work for has funding for research. A fellowship lets you pay your own stipend and often covers research expenses as well. This lets you start to develop research that is yours. Often funding is specifically for areas outside of what the lab you are in typically does. It also makes you a stronger candidate to join the lab, as you bring your own funding.

There are fellowships you can apply for before and during the first two years of graduate school. You do not need to come up with a proposal alone. In fact, it is often best to have a sense of a lab you could do this work in. Many researchers would be receptive if you reach out saying you want to work with them on a fellowship application. This allows you to form a connection, even if you do not get the fellowship, which may still allow you to work in their lab.

What fellowships are out there?