FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
I hope this page can be filled with resources to help undergraduate students into the field of astrophysics.
It currently holds links to:
- relevant summer schools and funding for internships. Often if you are looking to pursue a career in astronomy you will end up in academia. Relevant internships will likely be at observatories or within universities where you will be undertaking research - and are very valuable if you are looking to apply for a PhD. As with all of academia though, you may need to find some funding. I hope some of the resources here could be of use.
- potential internships
SUMMER SCHOOLS AND INTERNSHIP FUNDING
Got some ideas for helpful resources? Let me know!
PATRICIA TOMKINS UNDERGRADUATE AWARD
From the RAS website: "A generous donation from the Patricia Tomkins Foundation funds a RAS scheme of prizes and grants to encourage student interest in instrumentation science for astronomy and geophysics. While the support is aimed at developing skills in scientific hardware such as electronics, detectors and optics, the development of novel software specific to a hardware project will also be considered.
The Tomkins undergraduate prize of £500 will be awarded for excellent laboratory work on instrumentation undertaken as part of a course related to astronomy or geophysics. Applicants will be required to submit a short report (no longer than 4 pages) on their instrumentation project together with a covering letter from their academic tutor in support of the application. The deadline is 31 May."
RAS FUNDING FOR SUMMER INTERNSHIPS IN ASTRONOMY
If you are looking to do a summer internship within a university within the area of astrophysics, you're going to need some funding! The RAS help fund undergraduate summer projects for up to 10 weeks, though you may need help from your supervisor to apply (and they must do so before February).
RSE INTERNSHIP FUNDING
Also called the Cormack Vacation Scholarship, if you are an astrophysics undergraduate you could get funding for your internship plans here. Here's what the RSE have to say:
"The Cormack Vacation Scholarship scheme is for undergraduate students studying astronomy who have a class record indicative of good research potential and who would like to further their skills and experience by undertaking a period of research over the summer holiday period.
Applicants should be full-time undergraduates, normally up to and including the Summer before final year. All Scholarships – which have a value of £200 per week – will be funded for up to a total of six weeks. Applications with a clear link to mountain-top observing/data may also be considered for the Piazzi Smyth Bequest Award, also valued at £200 a week."
LAIDLAW VACATION SCHOLARSHIPS
The Laidlaw Foundation offers scholarships of £500 for up to 10-week summer internships on a research project of your making, within a university. The programme also involves leadership training, so is great on your CV! To find out more, check out their website or search your university webpage for them!
Got some ideas for helpful resources? Let me know!
PLACES THAT OFFER INTERNSHIPS
Many institutions will offer internships, in many cases, they are not advertised and instead you can approach an academic about it. Saying that, here are a few astronomy based internships.