Summer Studentships

The BMSS Summer Studentship Programme

The British Mass Spectrometry Society (BMSS), in partnership with the Chromatographic Society (ChromSoc) accept applications annually for their Summer Studentships scheme. The scheme funds summer research projects for undergraduate students, providing them with opportunities to directly experience mass spectrometry and chromatography, going beyond what they will learn in lectures.

The studentships are typically of 6-8 weeks duration, and focus on involving the undergraduate student in scientific research, resulting in the opportunity to present their work in both a scientific report and a conference presentation.

Please click here to read about the experience of one previous awardee.

Benefits of the scheme

  • The BMSS and/or ChromSoc will cover an undergraduate summer student participating in a research project with a mass spectrometry and/or chromatography component.  The undergraduate student must be paid the national living wage to cover 6-8 weeks with costs up to a maximum value of £3,500 per studentship.  This £3,500 can include up to £300 in consumables costs.
  • The undergraduate student receives complimentary 5-Year BMSS Membership (or choice of ChromSoc Membership instead for joint BMSS/ChromSoc-funded students).*
  • Complimentary registration for the undergraduate student for one BMSS Annual Meeting (or choice of one ChromSoc meeting instead for joint BMSS/ChromSoc-funded students).*
  • The undergraduate student will receive complimentary registration for one BMSS Introduction to Mass Spectrometry course (applicable for BMSS only, or joint BMSS/ChromSoc funded students).*
  • A travel grant to facilitate the undergraduate student attendance at one BMSS Annual Meeting/Course.*
  • Beneficiaries are encouraged to make a scientific contribution to the next BMSS Annual Meeting (may be deferred by one year).

* Funded by the relevant society

Eligibility

In order to qualify for consideration of funding:

  • The application must be submitted by the project supervisor.
  • The supervisor must be a BMSS member of at least 3 months standing, or a ChromSoc member.
  • The supervisor must be a bona-fide employee of the institution/company in which the project will be conducted, to which the funds will be paid (not to named individuals).
  • Only a single application per supervisor per round will be considered by this scheme.
  • Funding should typically be used to provide direct financial support to the undergraduate student e.g. as stipend to cover living expenses and a wage and is not to be used for conference attendance or travel (BMSS or ChromSoc travel grants are available for this purpose) or continuation of PhD studies/projects. Grants must be used solely for the purposes set out in the application.
  • Funding is open to supervisors who are in full-time employment at a British university or research institution and who will be fully employed for the duration of the project and report deadline, or where in part-time employment, name a full-time collaborator who is able to provide suitable cover.
  • Successful candidates may recruit undergraduates who are UK or EU nationals, or who have UK residence qualifications, and to overseas undergraduate students who are attending a British university or research institution for full time education with valid undergraduate student visa for the period of the Summer Studentship. 
  • Some degree of matched funding will be looked upon favourably. As such, the involvement of industrial bodies (as co-sponsor or collaborator) is acceptable, but the studentship application should be made solely by the supervisors where the undergraduate student will be based, and that the institution and undergraduate student both fulfil the aforementioned criteria, otherwise such applications will not be considered.
  • The application may be submitted before a suitable undergraduate student has been identified.

Applications

  • Applications must be submitted by the project supervisor. It is the supervisor’s responsibility to have full consent of all co-applicants prior to submitting this proposal.
  • Applications should not exceed 3 A4 pages and should be structured according to the format below:
    1. Proposed sponsor
      1. BMSS (must have a mass Spectrometry element)
      2. ChromSoc (must have a separations element)
      3. BMSS/ChromSoc joint award (must contain a chromatographic & mass spectrometry element. Note: Ion mobility will not be considered as a chromatographic technique)
    2. Project title (20 words or less)
    3. Name and email addresses of any co-applicants
    4. Background information (250 words or less)
    5. Project objectives (300 words or less)
    6. Experimental plan, detailing student involvement
    7. Proposed outcome and impact of the research
    8. Ensuring a positive student experience of mass spectrometry and/or chromatography
    9. Level of funding required for student stipend, including information to demonstrate alignment with the national living wage: As part of the application, the BMSS require the applicants to demonstrate that their combined budget and timeframes are compliant with the National Living Wage (https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates).
    10. Consumables funding requested (up to a value of £300) outlining the type and cost of the consumables the funding will be used for (500 words or less)
    11. Anticipated start and end dates
    12. Institutional sign-off complied with (yes/no – if no, supervisor letter of support to be provided)
    13. Optional declaration: To confirm the undergraduate student and the supervisor declare to give consent to use photographs and/or include the student experience in social media (Instagram and LinkedIn), for a consent form please contact  BMSS Administrator: admin@bmss.org.uk.
    14. Optional videos: The supervisor and student are encouraged to produce a video about the summer studentship experience (for example, what they did during the studentship, a "typical day") for outreach purposes. 
    15. Optional blog: The supervisor and student are encouraged to write a short piece about the summer studentship experience and include pictures for outreach purposes. 
    16. Project supervisor signature (accepting the terms and conditions of the BMSS and the award)
    17. Applications should be emailed to the BMSS Administrator: admin@bmss.org.uk.
  • The 2025 deadline (Friday 31st January 2025) and applications will open 1st of November 2024.

Terms and Conditions

  • The available funding. The BMSS will fund approximately four projects, to a maximum value of £3,500 (including £300 consumables) per studentship to cover 6-8 week student stipend . In addition, ChromSoc will fund up to a further two projects to a maximum value of £3,500 per studentship, provided that they contain a strong focus on separation science. Some degree of matched funding will be looked upon favourably.
  • The decision-making process. The BMSS Advisory Board and ChromSoc representatives will rank and select the projects that will receive funding based on criteria including their mass spectrometry and/or chromatography content, relevance to current topics, novelty of the project, deliverables, development of the student, and student experience.
  • The project report. The student/supervisor team must produce a project report of 2-3 pages (1600-2400 words, excluding references) describing the results of their project, once completed, for inclusion in the BMSS newsletter (MassMatters), ChromComm, LCGC's The Column, on the BMSS and/or ChromSoc web site, across BMSS and/or Chromsoc social media platforms, or in other material relevant to either society. 
  • Project reports must be returned to the BMSS Administrator: admin@bmss.org.uk, within 6 weeks of project end date. Delayed publication (so as not to prejudice journal submission) can be negotiated, but report submission must be on time. Late reports may negatively affect the chances of future applications for any future BMSS funding.
  • The summer studentship blog experience of maximum one page with pictures/photophaps, must be included in the report.
  • Acknowledging financial support. All sponsoring societies (BMSS and ChromSoc) must be specifically acknowledged in all presentations/publications and grants resulting from the student’s work.
  • We would not normally expect to award more than one grant to the same PI in any twelve-month period. 
  • Complimentary student benefits may not be transferred to another person. The complimentary registration for the Introduction to Mass Spectrometry Course and to attend the BMSS Annual Conference, plus the travel grant to support attendance, may be deferred by up to one year. The student attending the conference would be expected to present the results of their research project in poster form.

If you have any questions about the Summer Studentship programme, please contact the BMSS Education Officer: education@bmss.org.uk