Research Internship Program
As WISP interns, first and second year women may spend up to ten hours a week for two academic terms working in paid part-time research internships with science faculty members (or researchers in nearby industrial or government laboratories).
An important information session is held in early October. Internship Opportunities booklets containing important information about program guidelines and application procedures are distributed. For those unable to attend, booklets will be avalilable in the WISP office.
- Program Timeline
- 2010 Internship Opportunities: Round 2 is now closed.
(Deadline for Round 2 was 4:30pm, Friday, November 20, 2009.) - Application Form
- Top Choices Form
Graduate students and post docs often serve as supervisors and “assistant sponsors.” At the end of the year, students present their work at the annual Karen E. Wetterhahn Science Symposium at Dartmouth College.
Since the program began in 1991, 1,327 women have participated in research internships and nearly 300 faculty and researchers have volunteered as WISP intern sponsors. All of Dartmouth’s science departments, including Dartmouth Medical School have participated, in addition to the following off-campus institutions: Veterans Administration Research Center, and U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory.
| Feedback from Past Participants:
““[WISP] assured me that I could learn science. I learned how to look for useful information. It is the scientific method that is most important to scientific research.” “I always had the picture of the lone scientist conducting research in a quiet, desolate lab, but its not all like this. I’ve learned that science is found in unexpected places, such as watching rats have sex!” “Science is no longer a dream, a far-out wish that I wish I could participate in. Science is a reality. My work has given me every confidence that I can go out there and get my PhD and really make an impact in science.” “In an age quickly being consumed by cyberspace, I knew very little about computers beyond word processing. I hope this would be an opportunity to break beyond my ‘computer phobia.’ So far, I have not been disappointed.” “The women in the lab with whom I work all seem to be very intelligent, hard-working, dedicated individuals, and I find it very inspiring to work alongside them. They always offer me advice and try to encourage me when I start to question my abilities in science. I think that this environment has helped me a great deal. I am learning so much about science and research, and it is wonderful to see the women in my lab as models of what I can become with hard work.” |
Relevant Resources:
Internship Interviewing Advice
Guide to First-Year Internships (pdf)