Though many physics departments maintain an active research environment for undergraduate students most schools do not have enough research slots for all of their undergraduate students. And it is useful and good for students to spend a summer doing research off their campus with other groups at national labs or research universities.

Why do research as an undergraduate?

Hopefully, it will be fun. Hard work … challenging … and exhausting. But also fun.

Too often at the undergraduate level we only see the problems in our courses. In undergraduate research we have the opportunity of pulling things from many courses to work on a single problem. We are also given more responsibility to work on a problem on our own, as part of a larger effort.

Undergraduate research gives you a much clearer picture of life as a scientist than course work can. And so if you think that you are interested in physics as a career – or if you simply prefer solving problems to the summer jobs you’ve had before – look into the research opportunities.

What will I do?

There are so many different experiences it would be impossible to say what you will get.

Some students land an opportunity to take over an interesting problem that will demand their best work and end up learning a lot of physics and a lot of themselves. But other students end up at a job that is … only a job.

Some students land in a program that has a lot of opportunities outside of the work to meet with other students, with faculty, to learn physics not available on their home campus. But others end up in a program that is not that interesing.

Talk to students and faculty about the programs to which you are applying. Perhaps they know something good or bad to help you make a decision.

How do you apply for summer research opportunities?

Most of the program will require applicants to have two or three years of college physics. But there are a few programs that are looking for people with only one year. Read the requirements carefully.

Many of the positions will be looking for someone who has potential outside of the classroom and so good grades are not enough. Skills that would be useful come from upper-level laboratory experiences, programming, and on-campus research.

First some guidelines.

• Start looking early. The end of the fall term is too late for some of these programs.
• Look for a good match. Is there a particular field in which you are interested? Is there a particular school you’d like to explore? Is there a particular place?
• Research the position. Students and faculty at your school may have visited a lot of places. Talk to your instructors and fellow students, surf the Web, visit the library. Two or three months of your summer is a lot of time to invest. Do your best to make a good choice. Be sure you have a clear idea of what you will be paid and where/how you will live. Most campuses now have a very good program geared to undergraduate students. But there are some who have not worked out all of the bugs.
• Universities and national labs will usually have research positions but industry-based jobs are sometimes called internships. Make sure that the internship is a paid one unless you are willing to not get paid. And if you want to work on policy issues, there are many interesting internships that are available to work at AIP, APS, NIST, Congress, etc. But these are fiercely competitive positions.
• Start working on your application well in advance of the deadline. You will most likely need to rewrite the materials several times (at least) before you get it right. Ask your teachers and friends to check over your application for feedback.
• Apply to more than one position. Again, these are fiercely competitive jobs.
• Even if its a long shot, if you like a position, go ahead and apply. But apply to others as well.
• Warn the people from whom you’d like to get letters of recommendation early. A good letter takes time and effort. Also let them know something about each position for which you are applying.

Please take a moment to read about the Victor M. Blanco Fellowships co-sponsored by NSHP.

Below is a partial list of some popular summer research sites. In addition to the following sites, you should check the announcements in your department.

• NSF-Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) Program Search— A mammoth listing of the programs pursuing research in physics, astronomy, material science, …. Sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
• Pathways to Science— A comprehensive collection of the programs for students interested in any of the sciences. For all levels of students with a focus on under-represented groups. They also allow you to search for programs with a variety of filters (e.g., by discipline, by level of student, targeted for women, international students, etc.) Sponsored by the Institue for Broadening Participation.
• SPS Jobs — The SPS have combined their summer research opportunities page with their Job Board for bachelor level positions. A good site to get to know
• SPS Internship Program — The SPS hosts several internship opportunities in research, policy, outreach, and communication.
• NIST Physics Laboratory Research Opportunities — Summer programs at the National Institute of Standards and Technology
• A Guide to NASA Education Support Programs — Education programs and internship opportunities at NASA
• NASA STEM Engagement — Current Opportunities for Students
• Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships — administered by the Office of Science for DOE, opportunities at all of the DOE laboratories.
• Research and Internship Opportunities for Undergraduates in Astronomy and Astrophysics — a list of sites maintained by the American Astronomical Society.
• Internship at AAAS — a list of policy and communication internships offered by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

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