Undergraduate research experience placements

NERC (National Environment Research Council) are continuing their Research Experience Placements Scheme (REP). The aim of the scheme is to address a recognised shortage of individuals with quantitative skills coming into environmental science. NERC wishes to use this scheme to encourage more numerate individuals to consider a career in environmental research.

NERC has defined the eligibility for the awards, the types of research projects, the funding and reporting details; and the Graduate School of the National Oceanography Centre Southampton has defined the application procedure as set out below.

Eligibility of students

Selected students must meet all of the following criteria- they must:

• Have at least a grade C in Mathematics at A level (or equivalent in Scotland):
• Be studying for a degree in a quantitative discipline
• Be undertaking the placement in a different department to their undergraduate degree
• Be part way through their undergraduate degree (or integrated Masters)
• Be expected to obtain a first or upper second class UK honours degree
• Be eligible for subsequent NERC PhD funding (UK, EU or right to remain in the UK)

Research Projects

Proposed projects must:

• Have a clearly defined objective
• Be within the remit of NERC
• Be suitable for a student to sensibly complete within the timescale of the award
• Give scope for thought and initiative on the part of the student and should not use the student as a general assistant
• Be based at the UK organisation, although they could involve some fieldwork (within the funding limits)
• Include more that purely a computer/modeling component i.e some element of fieldwork, data collection, activity to give an understanding of the wider context etc.

Placement Details, Funding and Reporting

Each REP is for up to 10 weeks during the 2012 summer vacation.  The value of each REP is £2,500; £200 per week to the student and £500 towards research expenses during the placement.

The student and awarding organisation will be required to submit a brief report on the outcome of the bursary to NERC by 31 October 2012.  Further details on the report will follow later.

Application Procedure

We ask prospective REP students to examine the list of PhD projects offered within the Graduate School in order to identify supervisors with appropriate research interests who would host the summer placement. The prospective student should then contact the supervisor and set up a mutually agreed topic for the summer research project.  The topic should have a title and a short 3-line description of the research project.  The student should then supply a Research Experience Placement via email to [email protected] providing title, supervisor, short description of project and including a CV by 16 April 2012.

The applications will be assessed by a subpanel of the GSNOCS Committee and the REP awards will be announced by 30 April 2012.