The University of Texas Health Science Center - Graduate School of Biomedical Science

The Department of Physiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio has formed a partnership with The University of Ulster, Coleraine to provide Ulster second-year undergraduate students with a research internship at UTHSCSA. The internship, part of their B.Sc. Honours degree in Biomedical Science, will take place during their third year of study. Students will intern in the UTHSCSA Department of Physiology for one year, during which they will attend courses and work in a laboratory with a Physiology faculty mentor performing an independent, novel research project. After completion of the internship, the students will return to The University of Ulster.

The UU-UTHSCSA Internship is now featured on the University of Ulster’s homepage in an article entitled 'Ulster Students Secure Prestigious US Internship'.

Program Details

Students shall be assigned by their Faculty Mentor a research area in which they will work during their internship and, consistent with the research practices of UTHSCSA, follow the work prescribed by their Mentor.
Students shall conduct a literature review of their research area, to be submitted to their Mentor by December following their arrival.
During the internship students are expected to take courses. These courses will be to improve the undergraduate student’s research competence and may cover experience in practical work (e.g. microscopy) or an area related to research (e.g. data analysis or bioethics). The Faculty Mentor shall advise the student on the relevant courses available.
Students shall maintain a laboratory notebook consistent with Good Laboratory Practice, which must be available at any time for inspection by the Faculty Mentor.
Upon completion of their Internship, students shall provide to their Mentor copies
of the following assessments:
- Literature review
- Details of the research work which they have conducted, written in the format of a scientific paper, advice on which shall be provided by the Tutor.
- A Career Essay
The Literature Review and the details of the research work may only be removed from UTHSCSA with the written permission of the Mentor.

Completion
Upon completion of the Internship, students will be eligible to submit their dissertation (comprising of the literature review and a description of their research work) for the Undergraduate Research Award in Biomedical Science at the University of Ulster. All students who have returned from UTHSCSA to the University of Ulster shall present a seminar to second year Biomedical Science students preparing for internship.