QUADRAT DTP has an exciting opportunity for undergraduate students to take part in fully funded summer research experience placements (REPs) in the Environmental Sciences!

These placements are intended to encourage undergraduate students to consider postgraduate education or a career in the environmental sciences. Whether you have a science background or not, there is a placement for you! This scheme encourages cross-disciplinary research so you can try something totally new or apply your skills in a whole new way, developing broad and transferable skills along the way!

All advertised projects include an element of either lab and/or field work – training will be provided but please make sure you are reasonably local and able to travel to the field sites. These will usually be on or around the host university campus.

During a REP, an undergraduate student joins the hosting organisation (either University of Aberdeen or Queen’s University Belfast) for 6-10 weeks between June and September, to complete a short-term research project.

The scheme aims to address these two key areas:

  1. the quantitative skills gap (e.g. mathematics, finance, statistics, computing, engineering, chemistry, physics, architecture and similar) in the environmental sciences;
  2. demographic and diversity-related challenges in the environmental sciences;

This year’s projects include:

  • How much carbon? What effect does burning intensity changes have upon peatlands, for example their ability to sequester carbon?
  • Searching for influxes of sediment to an ancient coral reef: Microscopy and geochemistry of the mid-late Devonian rocks of Torbay
  • Are there any earthquakes in North East Scotland?
  • Establishing DNA barcode reference libraries for biomonitoring and species discovery on UK seagrass beds
  • Trophic structure and functioning of the macrofauna community in Loch Creran investigated via dual stable-isotope labelling experiments
  • Microplastic distribution and their controls in the Tay Estuary

Find out everything you need to know on our webpage here. Eligibility criteria applies – please see full details on our website. Please read our FAQs before applying.

Testimonials and detailed blog posts by REP placement students from the last 3 years are available on our website.

Deadline: Tuesday 2 May 2023 @ 23.59 (midnight) BST

You can also email quadrat-internships@abdn.ac.uk if you have any questions about this placement scheme.