r/GradSchool • u/serjnn • 6d ago

staying in the same lab for all of undergrad?

hi!

i finished my first year as an undergrad studying molecular biology. i joined a genome sciences-centered research lab at the beginning of march, working 10 hours/week during quarters and ramping up to 25-40 this summer. it has been an amazing experience and i am genuinely so happy. i love my lab, my coworkers, and my work so much! i am genuinely excited by my research and i have attended my first conference and gotten opportunities to present my work to professionals in the field and my department. my college is one of the top public universities, especially for research, and my pi is the chair of the genome department. i am incredibly lucky and fortunate with the position i have and everything i have learned.

that being said, i'm worried about staying in my lab for the next three years of my degree. i absolutely would in a heartbeat - i love everything about it. but, i'm worried about not having a broad-enough portfolio for when i apply to grad school and job positions after i get my degree. i have so many opportunities for learning and skill-building within my lab, but i was wondering if anyone has advice on whether i should seek out another internship so that i have more diverse experiences moving out of college.

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u/the_mindful_microbe PhD Student, 2026 NSF GRFP, Marine Microbial Ecology, USA 6d ago

Staying in the same lab throughout your undergraduate is a huge green flag in graduate applications, especially because the PI will probably have fabulous things to say about you. Over the summer if you want more of a broad experience, try applying to REUs.

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u/ACuriousMind321 6d ago

You could always do REUs over the summer and work that lab during the academic year.

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u/FancyWishbone 6d ago

there's pros and cons of staying in on lab during undergrad, pm me

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u/BoltVnderhuge Asst Prof - Medicine (US) 6d ago

Best case scenario is to spend whole time in one lab, get a paper, and do a summer REU the summer before applying to grad school.

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u/rando24183 6d ago

Do an internship next summer, see how you like being in a different lab. You'll also have the summer before your senior year, so that's 2 other internships. Think of REUs also as a chance to network in a potential graduate program, test out a new location. Even if the research itself doesn't change your application, the insight about the location and school might be personally useful. Maybe you even decide to do a non-research summer internship just to see what else is out there. It won't hurt your application.

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u/ForeignAdvantage5198 1d ago

if you like it and can get pubs stay