Internship Information

Internships in chemistry and physics are often paid experiences because you will be performing essential work for the company, agency, or university that sponsors the internship. Internships fall into two categories: research experiences and work experiences, and you can get academic credit toward through CHEM 495 Internship in Chemistry or PHYS 495 Internship in Physics. If you are interested in completing an internship, talk to your advisor. You can read more below about some of the internships chemistry students have done in the past.

Research Experiences

The federal government and many universities with graduate programs offer summer research internships. These experiences typically pay participants a stipend and may include a living allowance or room and board coverage if at a university.

Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs) are federally funded research experiences in academic research labs at major universities. If you participate in one of these experiences, you will be performing cutting edge research alongside faculty, post-doctoral researchers, graduate students, and other researchers at another university. REUs are great opportunities for you to get experience with the type of research that you would do in a graduate program in chemistry. The National Science Foundation maintains a website to help you find the perfect REU!

The National Institutes of Health also provides research experiences for undergraduate students or recent graduates. The Summer Internship Program is an opportunity for undergraduate students to perform cutting-edge biomedical research at one of the National Institutes of Health for eight to ten weeks over the summer. The Postbaccalaureate Intramural Research Training Award is a great experience for the recent graduate to gain additional research experience before applying to graduate and professional schools.

Work Experiences

Many companies in the chemical and biomedical industries will hire undergraduate students to perform essential work as part of training programs. Government agencies may offer similar experiences. Over the years our students have interned at many companies. Here is a highlight of just a one of them.

Shimadzu is a global manufacturer of scientific instrumentation (including several of the major instruments in FSU's instrumental lab). Shimadzu's US headquarters is in Columbia, MD, so an internship with Shimadzu may be convenient for may FSU students.