Thank you for being interested in iGEM! We understand that you may have a few questions before you apply to the team, so here is a list of frequently asked questions along with their answers. If your question is not on here or you would like more clarification, feel free to contact us at cornelligem@gmail.com.
Yes! We accept all majors from every school and have historically accepted majors including, but not limited to: HADM, biology, econ, BME, chemE, and ECE. If you are interested, please apply!
Examples can be seen on our website when you scroll down to "Past Projects and Achievements".
No! While being a synthetic biology project team causes us to have a lot of interest in our Wet Lab subteam, our other 4 subteams (Product Development, Policy & Practice, Wiki & Design, and Business) are focused on just as highly as all 5 need to be well integrated for a successful project.
iGEM is a very interdisciplinary team in every sense of the word. With our competition being international, we are able to connect with so many different people in countries such as Latvia, Canada, China, France, and of course the US via outreach, collaboration, and during the Jamboree in Paris. We also work on a new type of project every year, so one season may be more medical based while another may be more environmental or AI. Although we are the only synthetic biology project team on campus, we focus on integrating all perspectives from different fields to make a more robust project. A few majors that have made an impact on our projects are listed below:
Applying to iGEM consists of the Project Teams general application (required for any project team), the iGEM specific application, and an in-person interview.
No! We do not expect our applicants to have prior research, iGEM, or background experience when they apply. Your application will be considered the same way as other applicants who do have experience and you will not be put at a disadvantage.
No! The order of which subteams you apply to does not matter in the application process.
We typically try to get a mix of class years when accepting members for a season. However, students currently in their last year at Cornell cannot apply as they will not be able to complete a full season.
Sadly no. While we would love to offer coffee chats, the iGEM competition deadlines are at the same time as recruitment, and we don't want our members to be overwhelmed as they work hard to help us compete!!
However, there are plenty of opportunities to come and meet us! You can find us at: project team fest, biofest, club fest, our info sessions, and more! Look out for us on our social media where we post updates about our events!
Yes! We compete in the iGEM Grand Jamboree in Paris, France. This typically lands between late October - early November.
We run on a calendar year rather than an academic calendar year. An example of our timeline is shown below:
Typically, a member will spend around 3-5 hours per week on iGEM related tasks in any given week including a G-Body meeting, Subteam meeting, and subteam specific tasks (i.e. performing wet and dry lab work, interviewing, wiki creation, etc). However, we value flexibility so we try to be accommodating to every member's needs in terms of time.
This tends to increase to 5-10 hours per week during peak times such as brainstorming season, when members are getting trained, and right before competition, when we are finalizing our project and creating presentation materials. During the summer, subteams staying in Ithaca (WL, PD, PNP) typically do iGEM part-time (15 - 20 hours per week)
Yes! Many of our iGEM members are in other activities along with iGEM including research. We make sure to be flexible for our members to explore other passions and extracurriculars while in iGEM.
This has been possible in the past but it tends to not be recommended due to the overlap that occurs in general project team requirements. If this is something you are interested in, please speak to the leadership of both project teams so your specific situation can be worked out!
Let's see some quotes from some of our 2024 members!
"Surprisingly, it has been both very fun and busy. Hanging out with our fellow iGEM members during our social events and working in the lab has been an incredible experience. I'm also working in a research lab and taking a summer course, but it's nice having a lot of friends here who you're able to chill with." -Richard '26
"Seems daunting at first, but it's honestly very relaxing and gives you a whole new perspective of campus!" -Ryan '27
"Much more chill than the academic year -- a great time to explore Ithaca and the surrounding area!" -Jatin '25
"Staying in Ithaca over the summer is very long but short. I felt like I had so much time to spend working on myself as I got to take everything slow, which honestly was much better during a normal, busy semester. However, it went pretty fast as I kept myself busy with summer classes, work, and of course iGEM. I highly recommend staying over the summer especially as a new member who are mostly underclassmen as you get to experience living independently." -Lynn '27
"It's nice and calm. It's definitely great to explore Ithaca without the pressures of school!" -Nicoletta '27
"Really fun! I've gotten really close with the people I've chosen to be roommates with and I love having this opportunity to explore more of Ithaca's hikes and parks." -Jacqui '27
"Looking back on my experience in summer 2022, it was a great opportunity to explore all of the outdoors activities! Doing research and iGEM on campus for a summer was also a great launchpad for industry recruiting and graduate school applications!" -Adi '25
If you are in Wet Lab, Product Development, or Policy and Practice, you are expected to stay over the summer of your first season. After that, it is optional. If you are Business or Wiki & Design, you are not expected to stay in Ithaca over the summer, but you may have remote assignments. If this serves as an issue but you are still interested in applying to iGEM, please reach out with any questions!
Here are some activities our members do over the summer!
Training is split into two sections: the fall you get accepted and the following spring brainstorming.
In the fall, you will get introduced to the team, learn how iGEM functions here and internationally, learn basic synthetic biology methods, and how to effectively read papers to prepare for spring.
In the spring, you will undergo training with your specific subteam and learn the necessary skills to succeed in your subteam. All members will also review what was taught in the fall in addition to learning how brainstorming season works and create a project for competition season.