What research and internship opportunities are available for UConn biology majors?

UConn biology majors have strong hands-on options beyond classwork, especially through undergraduate research in faculty labs, fieldwork tied to Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Molecular and Cell Biology, and internships connected to health, biotech, environmental science, and animal science. At Storrs, students can get involved in research fairly early by reaching out to professors, and UConn also has structured support through the Office of Undergraduate Research. Biology students commonly find opportunities in genetics, microbiology, neuroscience, ecology, plant biology, and biomedical research.

A lot of the best opportunities come directly from UConn’s research infrastructure. Faculty labs in the Biology Department, as well as related departments like Molecular and Cell Biology, Physiology and Neurobiology, and Allied Health, regularly involve undergraduates in lab and data work. Students may assist with experiments, animal or plant studies, microscopy, field sampling, coding, or literature review, and some go on to present at Frontiers in Undergraduate Research or co-author papers.

For internships, biology majors often use UConn’s connections with hospitals, research institutes, environmental organizations, government agencies, and biotech employers across Connecticut and the Northeast. Depending on your interests, that can mean clinical shadowing and hospital-based experiences, environmental conservation internships, public health work, or industry placements in laboratory settings.

There are also course-based and field-based experiences that matter a lot. Some biology students take labs with intensive research components, join faculty-led summer programs, or do independent study for credit. If you are interested in ecology or marine biology, UConn’s Avery Point campus and broader coastal research connections can be especially useful for marine and environmental work.