Project Onramp Applications Open – Summer 2023 Internship Program for Pell Grant Students – Life Sciences, Business, Communications & HR

Project Onramp offers paid summer internships in the life sciences for undergraduate students who are under-resourced and often from under-represented groups or first-generation.

Students must be Pell eligible to apply, and the Career Center will verify Pell Grant eligibility of all students who submit materials. Unfortunately, international students are not eligible for this program.

Half the internships are available in industry labs, and the other half in departments such as business strategy, marketing, communications, clinical operations and HR.

Project Onramp currently partners with 80+ companies, including multinationals like Pfizer and Takeda and small start-ups like Be Bio and Vedanta Bio. Because Project Onramp host companies reserve roles for Onramp students, you will only be competing against 4-5 other candidates.

Internships are 10-12 weeks long, and usually run June – August. The exact dates will be decided between you and the hiring manager. The pay range is $17/hr. – $25/hr. based on your year in school. You must work full time; you cannot be in summer school or have another part-time summer job. You must have housing in the Boston area for the summer, as the program does NOT provide housing.

The Process

• Students that are interested in receiving updates to internship opportunities should sign-up for this Project Onramp Interest List.
• If you are a Pell Grant student interested in this program – please contact Susan Atkins at Susan.Atkins@tufts.edu to be added to our email distribution list so that we can send you updates for Project Onramp.
• Project Onramp positions will be posted in Handshake with the label projectonramp (search by this label for all positions)
• Students must review the internship opportunities in a timely fashion, ensure they meet the qualifications, and if interested, must send their resumes to Sue Atkins, Assoc. Director of Employer Relations in the Tufts Career Center at susan.atkins@tufts.edu BEFORE the specified deadline for that specific position. Please include your student ID Number along with your resume.
• We recommend having your resume reviewed in advance by a career advisor (in-person or virtually – check Handshake for availability) or a career fellow during Career Labs before submitting your resume to the open internship postings.

Timeline

The internship positions will be posted in Handshake from November 2022 – April 2023. Students’ Pell Grant status will be verified with the Tufts Financial Aid Office and applicants that meet this requirement will be forwarded to Project Onramp for consideration for currently available internship placements. Students will be contacted directly if selected for an interview and to complete the internship selection process. If you receive an internship from Project Onramp we ask that you no longer submit your resume for open internship positions.

Program Benefits

Project Onramp interns are paired with an industry mentor over the course of the summer. Mentors and mentees met three times for one-hour meetings. Discussion topics include forging a career in the life sciences industry, being authentic in the workplace, building confidence and building networks, among other topics.

This mentorship opportunity is a way for companies to leverage their employees’ talent and experience, and to give back to the community. It is also a way for students to build meaningful professional networks and interact with people who can be advisors and guides as they finish undergraduate degrees and enter the workplace or graduate schools.

In 2021, mentors came from several companies, including Abbvie, Acceleron, Agios, Apic Bio, Arrakis, Astra Zeneca, Back Bay Life Science Advisors, Biogen, Boston Public Health Commission, Bowdoin Group, Bristol Myers Squib, Casma, Cerevel, CJ White Bio, CorEvitas, Corval, Dewpoint, Entasis, Foundation, Genocea, Intellia, Johnson & Johnson, Jounce, Kymera, Magenta, Massachusetts General Hospital, Moderna, Novartis, Obsidian, Orchard, Pfizer, Relay, Sarepta, Scorpion, Seres, Synlogic, Takeda, TCR2, Third Rock Ventures, Valo and Vertex.

For any questions related to Tufts’ partnership with Project Onramp, please contact Sue Atkins, Associate Director, Employer Relations at Susan.Atkins@tufts.edu.

2021: List of Host Companies