Our undergraduate studentship scheme aims to identify excellent second-year undergraduates (or three-year undergraduates on a four-year course) with an interest in plant science, and support them to continue in the subject through summer research projects in laboratories outside their place of study.

Gatsby’s Plant Science Advisors have specially selected Gatsby Mentors at universities which have strong plant science research. Each year the Gatsby Mentors identify excellent second-year undergraduates who have an interest in plant science and help them to write proposals for research projects in the summer vacation.

Each Gatsby Mentor nominates up to two students to the Gatsby Plant Advisors, who interview them before selecting up to seven students to receive Sainsbury Undergraduate Studentships.

Each award totals £5,000:  £3,000 paid through the host institution to support the student and provide some costs to the host laboratory during the summer internship as well as £2,000 directly to the student (£1,000 before and after the summer project), assuming satisfactory reports are obtained.

The studentships are used to fund placements in research laboratories, to cover the cost of field work or attendance at plant science-related conferences, and to purchase books or subscriptions to journals and scientific magazines.