Most internships are off campus and student initiated; however, we continue to develop new opportunities. For example, the National Aquarium in Baltimore has internships throughout the year, as does the Maryland Zoo. See the Current Students page for more opportunities. Either paid or unpaid internships can receive 1 credit per semester.

Internships can be on- or off-campus. You can look for opportunities on the University Experiential Learning SMILE platform, Handshake from the Life Design Lab, or as part of the Community Impact Internships Program.

For specific, paid internships go to the Opportunities page.

For all internships, you must meet with the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) and enroll in 290.590 Behavioral Biology Internship. Include information on your internship and your supervisor’s name and email address on the enrollment form. This is done on the IAW (Independent Academic Worksheet) in the Online Forms dropdown menu on SIS. Approval will only be given if you have discussed your internship with the DUS. At the end of every semester, you will submit a paper to your supervisor who must sign off or forward the paper to the DUS and confirm the hours you worked. For this paper, discuss the format with your supervisor and the DUS. In some cases it may be more of a research paper (described below), in others it may be a report or even a narrative. No matter the format there must be at least 5 literature citations. Your supervisor’s sign-off on your internship paper must be received within 10 days of the last day of class for fall and spring semesters. During intersession and summer the deadline varies.

There are many opportunities to participate in research projects on the Homewood campus or at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Supervised research should relate to behavioral biology.

Consult departmental web pages and other online information for research being conducted at the Homewood campus and the School of Medicine. Also check the weekly emails, the Opportunities page and try the updated ForagerOne site!

The research interests of faculty members in each department are usually listed, along with selected bibliographies of published works. Read a brief selection of the articles that have been published by the potential supervisors to ensure that you understand the nature of the research and can intelligently discuss it. Contact faculty via email to discuss possible research opportunities, introduce yourself as an undergraduate behavioral biology major, and explain your interest in working for credit in the faculty member’s laboratory. Make these arrangements well before the end of the semester prior to which you wish to begin work.

An agreement must be made between you and the faculty member (if research) or internship leader with whom you wish to work. The agreement specifies:

•  What you will be doing
•  How much time and when (scheduling) you will work
•  What you will receive from your mentor (supervision, readings, guidance, etc.) and how frequently you will meet.
• To receive credit, you must submit a paper every semester you conduct research (see below), be sure to discuss this with your mentor.

AFTER reading below use the online forms dropdown menu and select CAL (Customized Academic Learning) on SIS to enroll.

•  For research with a Behavioral Biology faculty member mentor with a 290.5## section, enroll directly in that faculty member’s section. Submit your paper directly to that faculty member who will also approve your credits. You must include a 4 – 5 page paper every semester you conduct research on your enrollment form.
• For research with a faculty member that does not have a Behavioral Biology research section (on or off JHU campuses), you must meet with the DUS (Dr. Bohn) to discuss your research and submit this form. You will then enroll in Behavioral Biology DUS Approved Research 290.505 section 1. You must include in the DESCRIPTION of your Customized Academic Learning form:
  • the name and email address of the lab PI (mentor)
  • the name and email address of your direct supervisor (often a graduate student or postdoc)
  • a description of what you will do on your enrollment form
  • check the box for a 4- 5 page paper on your form

If this information is not included, your enrollment will not be approved. At the end of every semester, you will upload your research paper with your PI’s signature to Canvas. It is due 10 days after the last day of class.

All students who enroll in research must write a paper that describes the substance of their research that was carried out during the semester every semester they conduct research.

At the end of the semester, the paper must be submitted to the faculty member you are enrolled with (by their agreed upon date) or if enrolled in DUS Approved research your mentor must upload a PI signed paper to CANVAS by 4 p.m. within 10 days of the last day of class fall and spring semesters so that the the DUS can submit a grade to the registrar in a timely manner. (NOTE the due date for papers varies during summer and intersession. )This means you must submit your paper to your MENTOR in time for them to review it prior to the deadline. Unless an alternative arrangement has been made with the DUS beforehand, late reports will not be accepted and may result in a grade of unsatisfactory. All independent research is graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory scale.

Paper Sections

Title: The title should be a concise description of the project.

Abstract: The abstract is a brief summary of the project that you are working on—an overview.

Introduction: This section includes the questions that the project(s) addresses—the hypothesis. It should also include a background, with references, that informs the reader about why the hypothetical questions are being asked. Everyone should be able to write this section. Ask questions and get papers the lab has previously published. You should understand the project that you are working on, even if your job is only one aspect of the project. This section should be well referenced.

Methods: What techniques are being used to answer the questions? Why are these techniques being used? What protocols are being used? What experimental subjects and groups? Again, you should understand this component even if you are not actually using all of the techniques. You can also reference other papers that have used these methods so you do not need to write out the methods. What part of the project did you work on?

Results: What data have you collected? If none, what are the results you might see?

Discussion: What do the results, either obtained or speculated, mean to the questions that you set out to answer? How will this advance the field?

Literature Cited: At least 5 primary literature articles must be cited in the text of your paper and listed under the literature cited section. Contact Dr. Bohn if you have questions.

Additional Tips

Think of your paper as a work in progress. Talk to people in your lab about the project. When you are just starting out in a lab, the most you may be able to complete is the introduction. You should, however, be able to speculate on what the expected results are and then write how these results, if obtained, would address the questions the project addresses. Each semester that you work on the project, you should be able to add to the paper you are writing.