Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

About UNIQ+

UNIQ+ is a summer graduate access research internship and mentoring programme to experience graduate study at Oxford. The target audience of the programme is undergraduates from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds who are/have been on an upwards academic trajectory, and may be interested in postgraduate study or a career in research, but are unlikely to consider that this is obtainable.

Alongside UNIQ+, we will be running the Wellcome Biomedical Vacation Scholarships for projects within the Wellcome science remit.

UNIQ+ 2022

Dates

It is expected that the programme will run in Oxford from Monday 4 July to Friday 12 August. The first week will include induction sessions and may also include training in skills that will be useful for the project; the work on the actual project work will start w/c 11 July (or from pm on Tuesday 5 July depending on training needs). The programme will be open to applications from around mid-January to mid-February 2022.

Request for projects

The UNIQ+ Management Group would like to solicit proposals for UNIQ+ and Wellcome BVS internships, and is keen to have projects in all four divisions. Projects can be for an individual student or for a team of 2-4 students. Projects should have a tangible outcome that applicants can include on their CVs. Work could include a targeted piece of research or broader experiences across multiple techniques, laboratory studies or clinical analysis, archival study, bibliographic project, written report, data gathering, data analysis, software development etc. We expect the interns to produce a report and deliver a short presentation at the end of the internship.

Projects will be advertised on the UNIQ+ website, and candidates will be able to select them on the application form. If you submit a project within the Wellcome science remit, the project may be offered as a Wellcome Biomedical Vacation Scholarship or a UNIQ+ placement; this will be decided by the UNIQ+ management group.

Supervision requirements

Supervisors should be prepared to contact their interns in early to mid-June before projects start, then have relatively frequent contact time with the students particularly at the beginning of the project, and regularly throughout the six weeks. Supervisors will need to meet interns at least once a week and there should be someone available to work with the intern and answer their questions on a day-to-day basis.

The academic supervisor will also be expected to take on a career mentoring role, interacting with the students to discuss their aspirations and career plans and providing insight and advice into the process of applying for graduate study. Supervisors are encouraged to involve their post-docs and/or current graduate students in assisting with the supervision.

Assessment of applications

Supervisors would need to be prepared to assess the applications for their project(s) in March 2022. Eligibility checks and scoring on disadvantage will be carried out centrally by Graduate Admissions and Recruitment. Supervisors will not be expected to respond to informal queries from prospective applicants in advance of the application deadline. A UNIQ+ admissions panel will make the final decisions, with input from supervisors.

Funding

The programme is fully funded centrally by Crankstart and other sources. Student participants will be paid £2,500 and accommodation will be provided. Up to £500/student will be available to support consumables where required.

If supervisors wish to recompense post-docs/DPhil students for help with supervision, this would have to be organised and paid at departmental level. Where departments do not have the funds, a request for support can be submitted to Graduate Admissions and Recruitment but please note available funds for this purpose are limited, and it may not be possible to fund all requests.

Complete this form to submit a project. Deadline for submission is Friday 19 November

Please contact uniqplus@admin.ox.ac.uk with any questions.