The Scientific and Technical Education Pathway Programs for Students (STEPPS) undergraduate internship is a one-year, paid opportunity for students to gain knowledge and hands-on experience in clinical research under the guidance of a faculty mentor. Offered through NYU Langone’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI), STEPPS prepares students to enter the clinical research workforce following graduation and provides them with experience to support graduate level applications.

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What Is Clinical Research?

Clinical research is the study of health and illness in people. It often occurs in medical settings with patient populations but can also take place in community settings. Through clinical research, we learn how to prevent, diagnose, and treat illness. Clinical research involves human participants and helps translate basic research (usually done in wet labs or tightly controlled experimental settings) into new treatments and information to benefit patients. Clinical trials, health services, education, patient experience, and mental health (among other areas of inquiry), as well as research in epidemiology, physiology, and pathophysiology, can all fall under the clinical research umbrella. Clinical research professionals come from a variety of educational backgrounds, including scientific fields, the humanities, social sciences, and many others. Clinical research also encompasses a wide variety of roles, including biostatistician, clinical operations manager, clinical pharmacologist, clinical research coordinator, clinical research nurse, institutional review board member, laboratory technician, physician scientist, regulatory affairs specialist, and many, many more.

Program Description

This rigorous one-year internship is divided into two sections—a three-week summer training intensive and a 10-month clinical research immersion—and offers a unique opportunity for students to gain foundational knowledge and first-hand experience in conducting clinical research. Only students who can participate in both the training and the immersion are eligible for the program.

3-Week Summer Training Intensive: August 4-22, 2025

The program begins with a required, full-time (35 hours per week), in-person summer intensive training at our Brooklyn Clinical Research Center in Sunset Park. The summer intensive prepares students with fundamental research and institutional knowledge and skills through didactic sessions, hands-on training, and a culminating project and presentation.

10-month Clinical Research Immersion: October 6, 2025-July 25, 2026

Following the summer intensive, students are matched with a faculty mentor at NYU Langone Brooklyn, Manhattan, or Long Island and are expected to work up to 10 hours weekly (hybrid or in-person) on active clinical research projects.

Our priority is not to match students based on their specific research areas of interest but rather to match them with mentors who will support their overall growth, learning, and professional development within clinical research. Our faculty represent a variety of departments including neurology, infectious disease, psychology, cardiology, population health, pediatrics, and many others, and they conduct cutting edge research related to acute and chronic health conditions, social determinants of health, and environmental factors impacting the health of all populations.

Examples of tasks students may contribute to include developing study protocols, screening potential study participants, recruiting study participants, analyzing data, organizing quality improvement projects, conducting literature reviews, writing manuscripts, and more. Students also attend monthly check-ins with STEPPS staff and may have the opportunity to present and publish their work.

Salary Support

During the summer intensive, students are paid $20 per hour, up to 35 hours per week, for 3 weeks.

During the clinical research immersion, students are paid $20 per hour, up to 10 hours per week, for 10 months.

How to Apply

We are seeking undergraduate students enrolled in associate or bachelor’s degree programs in the New York City area. Applicants should be interested in pursuing clinical research careers. No previous clinical research experience is required.

Eligibility Requirements

Interested applicants must meet the following eligibility requirements:

  • Matriculated undergraduate student enrolled full or part time at a two- or four-year college or university in the New York City area with plans to graduate in 2026
  • have GPA of 3.0 or higher
  • able to commit to a paid, full-time (35 hours per week) training schedule in person at the NYU Langone Clinical Research Center in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, from August 4-22, 2025
  • able to commit up to 10 paid hours a week from October 2025 through July 2026 for the clinical research immersion

Application Requirements

Applications are due Friday, April 4, 2025, at 11:59pm, and will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Applicants should complete the STEPPS clinical research internship online application form. Letter writers should submit recommendations on institutional letterhead using this form.

We will select candidates to interview throughout the duration of the application period and shortly thereafter. We will only contact those applicants who are selected to move forward for the interview.

Students ultimately accepted to the program will need to complete the NYU Langone online application and onboarding processes, including undergoing a health screening. A second reference will be required for accepted students who provided only one reference with their application.

If you have questions about the STEPPS application process, please contact our team at STEPPS@NYULangone.org.

FAQ

I do not have previous research experience. Should I still apply?

Yes! The goal of our program is to reach students at all experience levels with clinical research, from absolute beginners to more seasoned research students. We provide all of our students with training in the fundamentals of clinical research during the summer intensive in order to prepare you for the remainder of the program.

I cannot attend the summer training intensive, but I would like to participate in the internship for the rest of the year. Am I still eligible for the program?

No. If you are unable to attend the 3-week training intensive in August—even if you have previous research experience at NYU or another institution—you are not eligible for the internship. The training intensive is designed to prepare you to work on active clinical research projects and is required for our program.

I do not attend college in the New York City area but am sometimes in the area for school breaks. Can I still apply for the program?

No. Much of our program takes place in person, and you must have the capability to attend the summer training intensive in person and to make an ongoing, weekly, in-person commitment to a clinical research lab for the full year.

I recently graduated from college or will graduate in the fall or winter this year. Am I still eligible?

No. Due to HR requirements, interns in our program must be full- or part-time matriculated students at a 2- or 4-year college during the year in which they participate in our program. Students who will graduate in late spring, summer, or fall during the second half of the program are still eligible.

I am interested in basic science and bench research. Is this the right program for me?

While our students learn some basic lab techniques, and the goal of our program is to graduate students with a holistic skillset that will increase their employability in the clinical research field, our program focuses specifically on translational research involving human subjects. If you are curious about human subjects research, this program is a great opportunity to learn more and explore your interest. If your primary interest is the earliest phases of translational research (basic science, preclinical, and/or animal studies), our program will likely not be the best fit for you.

Can I apply if I am not a senior or rising senior?

While in the past we have accepted applications from students at all stages of their undergraduate careers, we are currently limiting eligibility to seniors who are planning to graduate in the same year that they will complete the program. 

Do I get to choose my mentor and the NYU Langone site where I work during the year?

All students are required to attend the in-person summer intensive at our Sunset Park, Brooklyn, location. While students do not get to select their mentor or their lab placement, we will try our best to match you with the NYU Langone location you prefer. We encourage students from all five boroughs and Long Island to apply.

Does the program provide housing?

The program does not provide housing.