FAQs

Applications will open in summer 2024. We advise that you check your eligibility in advance. 

You will have the opportunity to select from our list of placements ahead of applying. As part of the application process, we will ask you to submit a CV and prepare short paragraphs to answer questions related to your area of interest and the In2research programme. 

If you are shortlisted, you will be invited to interview! The below process was for our 2023/24 programme – more information on the application process for the 2024/25 programme will be available once applications for that programme open.

The application form should take around 20 minutes to complete.

For the 2023/24 programme, we asked applicants to submit a CV and we are likely to ask for this for future programmes. The CV is not used for the selection process, but is a baseline document that participants will have the opportunity to develop using skills they will obtain in the workshops, mentoring sessions and away day. Please submit the CV you already have as part of your application. If you do not already have a CV, you can use our template found here. 

We will not be asking for a personal statement – instead, we have four questions in our application form that will allow you to express your passion for research, your subject, and our programme. The answers you provide to these questions will, again, be a helpful starting point for when participants write a personal statement  as part of one of the workshops. 

Our main advice with the application form is to focus on being honest about who you are. We want to hear about you so we can provide our applicants with the best access to the programme. We are looking for applicants who write with enthusiasm for research, regardless of any level of prior experience with research.

We may ask you questions about:

• what interests you about studying for a postgraduate research degree 
• what interests you in your specific research subject 
• Why you are applying for the placements you have chosen 
• what is most appealing about the In2research programme

If you’re struggling with these questions, you may want to take a brief look into what being a postgraduate research student involves (Prospects describes what a PhD is here), reflect on what in your degree you most enjoy most and why, and consider the aspects of our programme description found on our website that most appeal to you and why. 

Our 2024/25 placements will be listed once programme applications open in summer 2024. 

We  will ask you to select the top three placements you would like to apply for, for the full-time, eight-week summer placement. 

Each placement listing will include the host institution, working pattern, whether it requires working with animals, the dates of availability of the host, a summary of the skills you can gain and either an overview of the project or a summary of the host’s work. 

Some placements will have a specific research project already defined. Others will be broad and will give you the opportunity to tailor the project around your interests. The latter is a great opportunity if you have a specific interest or skills you want to develop. 

Applications will open in summer 2024. You will have roughly 2 months to complete your application. 

If you are interested in going into medical research, then we would encourage you to apply! Placements in many different subject areas may have a medical link, so be sure to check out different subjects other than ‘Medicine/healthcare’ in the placement listings.  If you are more interested in pursuing a practice-based medical career, then In2research might not be suited to your needs.

To be eligible for In2research, you will need to have completed at least one year of your undergraduate degree by the time you start the programme in November 2024.

We invite applications from: students who will be in their second, third and fourth undergraduate year in the 2024/25 academic year; from Masters students; and from people who have already completed their undergraduate degree or postgraduate-taught degree, regardless of employment status. This is provided that you have not already begun or completed a PhD. 

If you will be a first year undergraduate and you are interested in joining the programme in the future, please register your interest here and we will notify you when you are eligible for the following year’s programme.

Everyone on the In2research programme will have a full-time, 8-week research placement, which will be located in London or in Cambridge. The locations of the placements can be found on the placement listings – you can filter the projects depending on location. 

You do not have to be studying in either London or Cambridge. For London placements, you will need to have secured accommodation in London for the full eight-weeks of your placement during summer.

For Cambridge placements, free accommodation will be provided for anyone wanting to complete a placement in Cambridge. 

Once you have been offered a place on the programme and have confirmed your research placement, you will take part in your full-time placement in London or in Cambridge during summer and you will receive a tax-free stipend of over £3,000, equivalent to National Living Wage. This stipend can be used for things like travel and food costs.

In2research considers the socioeconomic background of all applications via the Social Mobility Commission’s Toolkit.

If you complete our application form, our questions will consider:

• The occupation of your main household earner when you were aged 14
• If you were eligible for free school meals during your school years
• If you ever received Pupil Premium, Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) or the 16-19 Bursary
• If your scores in response to any of these questions indicate a low socioeconomic background, then you may be eligible for our programme.

We want to help as many people as possible who are underrepresented in research degrees and careers. If you are in doubt whether you would be considered, we recommend applying. We strongly hope to get the people from disadvantaged backgrounds who are most passionate about research and their subject of interest into our next In2research programme.

If you’re interested in pursuing a research degree or career, then please apply!

The exact dates will be confirmed when applications for the 2024/25 programme are open. These will take place in autumn 2024.

Similar to the advice for the application, make sure to show us your passion for your area of interest and postgraduate research. Reflect on any experiences you have had in your area of interest and what interests you about research.

It can be helpful to write out any experience you have using the STAR method, to use in the interview. It can also be helpful to practise saying these examples to someone else or in the mirror. 

The programme kicks off in late November 2024 with an in-person away day in London. From December 2024 – April 2025, there are four workshops and four mentoring sessions that run online.  Workshops take place from 6pm, and you will meet your mentor for a mentoring session outside of work or study times. This amounts to a commitment of about four hours a month.

The full-time, eight-week placement will run between 1 June – 31 August 2025. Exact dates are finalised between you and your placement host, once your placement is confirmed.

The programme finishes with a second away day and celebration event in London where you have the opportunity to display, discuss and celebrate your research with a research output.

A timeline can be found on our ‘Apply’ page. 

There are four online workshops and four online mentoring sessions to attend alongside your full-time, 8-week research placement.

You are expected to complete some small tasks in your own time as preparation for sessions, such as cover letter writing and completing short surveys. We expect the time commitment to be roughly four hours a month before your full-time, eight-week summer work placement begins in summer 2025.

There are also two in person away days and social experiences that you can enjoy. These are professional development days with skill building workshops and keynote speakers that will compliment what you gain throughout the programme.

At your interview we will ask you about your subject interests and place you in a small mentor group of one-three participants with an experienced researcher aligned with your subject interests.

You will meet with them following each workshop. You can ask them questions about research and postgraduate applications and to share tips for success. They can also give you feedback on your workshop tasks, such as commenting on your CV and cover letters.

Each session will be different, covering a range of topics which may include understanding what a PhD is, academic CV and personal statement writing, interview preparation and more. 

While we do not expect you to bring anything to the workshops (except your enthusiasm!), we will send you information after the workshops for work you may need to prepare ahead of your mentor sessions.  

As a participant on the programme, you will be committing to a full-time, eight-week placement in London or Cambridge in summer 2025, to either:

(a) complete a bespoke research project

OR 

(b) to contribute to a wider existing project

You will gain and develop your research skills in your area of interest, as well as have the opportunity to network with academics. You will also create a research output that you will display and discuss at our celebration event in September 2025.

Your participation in the In2research programme includes a research placement that takes place for an eight-week period during summer 2025. The placement will be located in Central London or, for a small number of participants, in Cambridge. The location of your research placement will be confirmed following a matching process which includes close consideration of your areas of research interest.

For London placements, you will need to have accommodation in London for the full eight-weeks of your placement during summer.

For Cambridge placements, free accommodation will be provided for anyone wanting to complete a placement in Cambridge. 

Once you have been offered a place on the programme and therefore have confirmed your research placement, you will work full-time in London or in Cambridge for an eight-week period during summer and you will receive a tax-free stipend of over £3,000, equivalent to National Living Wage. This stipend can be used for things like travel and food costs.

You will receive a certificate of completion after the programme. However, In2research is not a formal qualification and does not count towards credits for Masters programmes.

This programme will offer you the information, confidence and research experience to support you to progress to postgraduate study.

There are many benefits to completing the In2research programme, regardless of whether you go into a postgraduate research study, a research career, or a different career entirely. 

In previous years participants improved their confidence and knowledge of the postgraduate research process, with some of the participants going on to secure PhD places. They also developed key skills like communicating research, writing cover letters, and networking. 

If you decide to do a postgraduate degree, completing the In2research programme helps to develop the knowledge and skills required for research careers. In addition, research experience can be a benefit in applications for research careers and positions.

If you decide that postgraduate study isn’t for you, you will have gained many skills applicable to all careers. Together with the research placement experience, applying for this programme may give you a foot in the door for other careers and opportunities beyond research!

Participating in the programme is completely free! We provide a tax-free stipend to support the participant when at their research work placement. We also reimburse any travel costs our participants that arise when travelling to our two, in-person away days.

Participants will be paid a tax-free stipend equivalent to the National Living Wage. Over the eight-weeks of the full-time research work placement, this amounts to above £3,000.