Many students choose to include a research experience or internship as part of their undergraduate education. These experiences allow you to explore a research problem in depth under the guidance of a member of the faculty. You can apply what you've learned in classes and labs and ask and answer questions that no one else has yet addressed. Many students feel that research was the most valuable part of their academic life at college. In addition to the possibility of being a co-author in a published scientific journal article, these experiences give you something concrete to talk about in interviews for jobs or graduate school. In fact, one of the most common interview questions is to talk about a project that you worked on as a student. Interviewers can assess your technical knowledge, your communication skills, and your enthusiasm for science very quickly.
There are several research groups working in the chemistry department at Wittenberg and we have placed students in summer and academic-year internships as well.
Internal Research Opportunities
- Most of our majors participate in paid summer projects at Wittenberg. Our research-active faculty describe their area(s) of interest in early January. Interested students then have until the end of February to discuss their ideas with faculty and prepare an application. We are typically able to support 10-12 student projects per summer. Learn More...
External Research Opportunities
- Some of our majors have also been able to participate in summer research programs at major research universities and/or intern at local companies. The National Science Foundation funds most of the summer research opportunities through its program. We also receive direct request for applicants from many programs. Application deadlines range from early January through mid-March.
- Internships tend to be arranged on a case-by-case basis with highly variable timing. We forward opportunities to majors and post them here.
Internships & Graduate Programs
- Chemistry graduates are very successful at finding employment and/or admission to graduate school. Approximately a third of our majors have entered the job market immediately after graduation, a third have gone on to professional programs, and a third have gone to graduate school.