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Undergraduate Training Opportunities and Procedures

Hosting undergraduate and high school students in labs represents an outstanding opportunity for training and advancing a lab’s research.

There are several different pathways that undergraduate and high school students can take to join SOMBS labs to conduct research. Each pathway has specific requirements and policies that apply to all undergrad and high school trainees regardless of entry pathway or home institutional affiliation.

Assistant Dean for Research Selene Colon put together a quick guide [PDF] that outlines the various routes by which undergraduate and high school students can enter Vanderbilt and SOMBS labs and the requirements for each pathway, including which requirements are imperative to ensure that students receive appropriate safety training.

Immersion Vanderbilt

  • Overview

    The goal of the Immersion Vanderbilt experience in the School of Medicine is to provide Vanderbilt undergraduates with a comprehensive mentored experience in discovery research. Projects should address a specific scientific question or gap in knowledge with systematic and methodologically rigorous investigation. Benefits include developing skills in reviewing significant literature, gathering new information and data, and analysis and interpretation of the findings, ultimately culminating in a formal presentation of the completed research.

    Vanderbilt undergraduates choosing to conduct Immersion Vanderbilt in the SOM should expect to:

    Interested undergraduates have several options to identify faculty mentors and develop their projects. Students are encouraged to start conversations with potential mentors early and build relationships before designing and submitting their Immersion Vanderbilt plan. Students may also use existing undergraduate research programs such as the Vanderbilt Undergraduate Summer Research Program, Vanderbilt Summer Science Academy, Research for Credit, and SyBBURE Searle Program (more information below).

    SOMBS faculty: Interested in hosting a student? Reach out to the Immersion Vanderbilt team.

  • Resources

Quick-start guide to hosting undergraduate or high school students in the lab

  • Vanderbilt undergraduates

    Vanderbilt undergraduate students have several options to participate in research experiences in SOMBS laboratories. They are allowed to be hired as student workers, to do research for academic credit through their major/minor area of study or through Immersion Vanderbilt, and/or to participate in various organized summer programs.

    Here is an overview of the steps required for each of these options:

    1. Student worker: If you are looking to recruit a student worker, please refer to the Vanderbilt student employment website, Hire A Dore. If you have already identified the student you would like to hire, please notify your appropriate SOMBS Office of Human Resources administrator contact. They will work with you and student to get them added to Oracle and hired. Faculty sponsors must notify the SOMBS OHR at least a week before the student worker’s proposed start date. The student worker must complete any required paperwork before work may begin.
    2. Research for academic credit: Students must work with their advisor or research program administrator if they want to gain research experience for credit in an SOMBS laboratory. SOMBS OHR does not handle these placements. All institutional biosafety requirements apply. The Undergraduate Research at Vanderbilt website is a valuable tool for inquiring students. The website has all the relevant information about the programs available to both Vanderbilt and external students interested in research experiences for additional learning. The College of Arts and Science departments below offer several courses in which students are awarded academic credit for research experiences.

    School of Medicine Basic Sciences designated faculty contact

  • Non-VU undergraduates

    External undergraduate students or postbaccalaureate trainees have several options to participate in research experiences in Vanderbilt SOMBS laboratories. They are allowed to be appointed as paid research interns or unpaid student observers or participate in various organized summer research programs.

    1. Paid research intern: Research interns are high school students, undergraduate students, or postbaccalaureate trainees who are appointed for educational purposes only for short-term periods that should not exceed a year. Research intern appointments are not applicable for individuals with terminal degrees such as a Ph.D. Internships are for individuals looking for research experience and are not appropriate for general lab work. If you have identified a person to be appointed as a research intern, please contact your SOMBS OHR administrator to begin the process of appointing the trainee through the BRET office. If you would like to accept an international student for a training experience, please contact the SOMBS OHR first to ensure all relevant documentation and visa requirements are understood before requesting an appointment. Please contact the Office for International Students & Scholars Services for more information.
    2. Visiting student observers: Visiting student observers in research laboratories are students from institutions outside of Vanderbilt who wish to observe research activities for purely educational purposes. These positions are short-term, typically no longer than eight weeks. Please note that strict criteria govern the placement of visiting student observers in research laboratories. Observational experiences are only approved if they are for a legitimate educational experience. Additionally, the experience is only accepted if the proposed activity is not one that a regular employee would typically perform.
    3. Vanderbilt Summer Science Academy: This umbrella program brings together undergraduates from Vanderbilt and from other institutions to conduct summer biomedical research in multiple summer research programs at School of Medicine laboratories. Students perform research and can attend seminars that support their development as future scientists.

    Additionally,Vanderbilt runs several Undergraduate Research Programs during the summer. If selected for program participation, the program will handle the appointment paperwork for participants.

    Lab duties/services
    If you require services such as dish washing, media preparation, lab maintenance, data entry, etc., please contact your SOMBS OHR administrator to obtain help hiring a student for your needs through Vanderbilt Temporary Services.

  • Policies for all short-term trainees
    1. Minors in labs: There are additional requirements for hosting anyone under 18 years of age (minors) in your lab. Please see the Guidelines for Minors in Vanderbilt University Laboratories. Numerous steps are involved in appointing minors in SOMBS research labs, so please allow at least four to six weeks for approval. Anyone under 18 must always be directly supervised by the faculty sponsor or designated supervisor while in the laboratory. Protection of Minors Policy Handbook.
    2. Institutional health insurance policy requirements: Departments should keep proof of health insurance for all interns in their departments. If the intern does not have health insurance coverage for the period of the internship, the department is required to provide one and the mentor is required to pay for the expense.
    3. Safety for all short-term trainees: The faculty sponsor’s laboratory must be in full compliance with all Vanderbilt safety programs and regulations. The faculty sponsor or designated supervisor is responsible for ensuring that students complete all safety and compliance training. Please visit the Environmental Health and Safety website, particularly their Lab Safety Training page, for more information. You can email ehs@vanderbilt.edu with general questions.
  • Information for non-SOMBS faculty

    If you are a Vanderbilt Health faculty member, please seek the guidance of Medical Center Relations. Faculty requesting research interns or student observers should contact their department’s or division’s human resources director to initiate the process. For health care observations (shadowing), see Vanderbilt Observational Experience.

    If you are an engineering or arts and science faculty member seeking guidance, please contact your own school administrators for options and procedures for placing high school, undergraduates, or recent college graduates in your lab.