BTI Internships

Plant Genome Research Program Internship (NSF REU)
Bioinformatics (NSF REU)
Innovative Agricultural Technologies (USDA REEU)
Programmable Plant Systems (NSF REU)

For over 20 years BTI has been inspiring undergraduates to discover how a career in research can have a positive impact on our world. Learn more about how research can be applied to protect the environment, enhance human health, and improve agriculture.

Undergraduate researchers who participate in our NSF & USDA funded programs will gain knowledge of plant systems, plant genetics and genomics, digital agriculture and scientific research by working closely with their research mentors in a laboratory setting. Participating undergraduates will learn the latest molecular biology techniques and bioinformatics tools while working on a supervised, independent research project within the framework of the assigned laboratory’s research program.

All programs are available through one application – Learn more here.

Since 2001, BTI has provided High School students the opportunity to participate in hands-on real world research projects for 7 weeks each summer. The goal of the program is to introduce students to plant science and computational biology during the summer of their junior year to provide them with valuable insight about their future career and major. If you are interested in spending the summer engaged in full-time research for 7 weeks at BTI and Cornell, please review the program information, eligibility, and application tips here.

Learn more here.

Launched in the summer of 2019, the BTI Workforce Advantage Program is a unique, immersive seven-week internship that provides high school students with work experience in varying operational areas in order to build a workforce development pipeline equipped to support scientific research “beyond the lab.”

As part of the program, each high school intern is appointed a mentor to assist and guide them in their selected area of work, which have included positions in BTI’s Procurement, Information Technology (IT), Finance, Lab Services, Greenhouse, Computational Biology, and Mechanical departments. The interns work alongside and share in many of the same professional development activities as their mentors to gain new, and hone existing, skills.

The Workforce Advantage Program interns also attend Lunch and Learn Sessions. For example, a local CPA firm taught the importance of student loans, tax forms, credit cards, credit scores and interest rates, and BTI’s Information Technology team explained internet scams and email etiquette. At the end of the internship, reference letters are provided to each student, highlighting their accomplishments. These tools and professional guidance prove invaluable to the participants, helping them to become well rounded and successful individuals as they progress on their career journey.

Learn more here.