Summer and Academic Year Research Opportunities

The "research" section shown on the main Berkeley Physics web page (http://www.physics.berkeley.edu/) lists ongoing research projects within or in conjunction with Department at this time. Research ranges from Astrophysics to X-ray Optics. If your research interests are still vague, use this site to help you familiarize yourself with current projects. Many of the faculty members in our Department have research opportunities for undergraduates to get involved in. Unit credit is an option for students conducting research under physics faculty supervision. In some cases, research support as a lab assistant may also be possible, both during the academic year and during the summer, although it is common for students to develop some expertise in the research area before they are paid. Check with our Undergraduate Advisor, Claudia Trujillo, on who has or has had undergraduates in their group in the past.

Finding Research:
There are a lot of resources on campus listing research opportunities for undergraduate students. Check for opportunities and listings on the boards outside of the Student Services Office, 368 LeConte Hall.

The Berkeley Physics Undergraduate Research Scholars Program is designed to encourage Physics majors to engage in research. The Physics Department will award a monetary stipend to several physics majors involved in research with Physics faculty. Interested students must apply. Berkeley Physics Undergraduate Scholars will be selected for the program by a committee of Physics faculty, based on evaluation of the student's enthusiasm and record, quality of the project, and level of involvement of the professor. Students selected for this program will be called the Berkeley Physics Undergraduate Research Scholars. Faculty take their mentoring roles very seriously, and will only sign-on students who are committed to their physics projects. The project may be a research paper, authorship on a published paper, or a senior thesis. For additional information and a copy of the application, stop by the Undergraduate Student Services Office.

The Office of Undergraduate Research is an on-line clearinghouse for information about the undergraduate research opportunities on the UC Berkeley campus. Their web site provides up-to-date information on undergraduate research programs, as well as links to summer opportunities and extra-campus programs. They are located in 301 Campbell Hall. Visit their web site at: http://research.berkeley.edu/   

The Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program:
Highly motivated undergraduates may apply for semester or year-long opportunities to work closely with faculty mentors on faculty-led research projects. Undergraduates with a 2.0 GPA or above are eligible to apply and those selected may enroll in Undergraduate and Interdisciplinary Studies (UGIS) 192 (1-4 units, P/NP). Descriptions of projects are available during the semesters. Applications are due the first day of the second week of classes. Visit their web site at: http://research.berkeley.edu/urap/

Consult other departments and programs for literature regarding their ongoing research projects.

Two nonacademic centers where students may find research opportunities are:

Space Science Laboratory (SSL) located at the top of Centennial Drive.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), One Cyclotron Rd., in Berkeley. Call (510) 486-4372 or (510) 486-5369 for more information.

Research Experiences for Undergraduates

        All National Science Foundation REU's
       http://www.nsf.gov/home/crssprgm/reu/reu_search.cfm

        Integrative Graduate Education & Research Traineeship (IGERT)
        National recruitment program funded by NSF
        http://www.igert.org/reus.asp

COINS Undergraduate Internship Program in Nanotechnology  (summer apprenticeship)
http://susanb.physics.berkeley.edu/coins/?page_id=30

UC LEADS Mathematics, engineering and science research program
(2 summer apprenticeship and advising to get into PhD programs)
 http://research.berkeley.edu/otheropps/UCLeads/UCLeads.html

Center for Energy Efficient Electronics Science (paid summer apprenticeship)
http://www.e3s-center.org/education/edu-ugrad-appl.htm

Haas Scholars Program (up to $12,600 to pursue an independent project
IN ALL MAJORS; we have funded a number of physics majors over the
years; last year we funded Yu-Dong Sun and Jason Ross).
http://research.berkeley.edu/haas_scholars/

SURF/Rose Hills (up to $6,000 to either pursue an independent project
starting summer before final year, OR to pursue a research experience
in the summer before the junior year). This is brand new this year!
http://research.berkeley.edu/surf/
http://research.berkeley.edu/surf/RoseHillsElig.html

McNair Scholars Program -- for under-represented OR first generation
college/low-income students who intend to pursue a PhD.  Funds an
independent project and coaches them through the grad application
process.
http://aap.berkeley.edu/mcnair.shtml

Contact the Office of Undergraduate Research at:http://research.berkeley.edu/ or the Undergraduate StudentServices Office for new information and special opportunities.

Other Summer Opportunities

The Cooperative Education Internship Service (2111 Bancroft) administers Survey of Career Options through Professional Experience (SCOPE). SCOPE staff run workshops on how to find internships; develop paid internships with business, industry, government and non-profit organizations; assist students develop their own internship; evaluate and monitor internships; advise students on career/life planning and assist students with readmission and withdrawal paper work. Physics students have interned with companies such as INTEL and IBM among many others.

For Internship Opportunities on campus visit their web site at: http://career.berkeley.edu to access the current "Cal Internship Directory". This directory compiles the many Berkeley campus sources from which students can learn about internship opportunities. It includes resources for community service, fieldwork, paid jobs and volunteer positions.

The Segre Internship is designed for undergraduate or graduate students who have taken the advanced laboratory course (Physics 111). It is a full-time eight-week commitment (during the summer) to work with faculty and professional staff in the laborartory; the goal is to develop new experiments to be used in future semesters in the Physics 111 laboratory. A modest amount of experience with electronic and laboratory equipment and experimental practices is necessary.

Applications for the Segre Internship are available mid-April and due at the end of April every year. Application can be found athttp://socrates.berkeley.edu/~phylabs/adv/. Please contact the Physics Undergraduate Student Affairs Officer - 368 LeConte Hall - for more information.

The Center for Science and Engineering Education (CSEE) at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory - has undergraduate research opportunities for students in the summer. Please visit their web site at: http://www.lbl.gov/Education/CSEE/cup/cup.html for more information. There will be links with specific information on research for undergraduates posted every summer at this web site. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is always to good place to check for research opportunities both in the summer and during the regular academic year. Visit them at: http://www.lbl.gov.

The Space Science Laboratory (SSL) - offers a space grant summer fellowship every year. These summer fellowships are available to support outstanding UC undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in entering the fields of space sciences and space engineering. Detailed information and applications are available at: http://www.ssl.berkeley.edu/fellowships.html.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Programs. REUs support undergraduate research participation and encourage students to join research projects each summer at universities around the country. Detailed information is available at the NSF web site: http://www.nsf.gov/. To search for an REU site, go to:http://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/reu_search.cfm and click on "physics" or desired. The direct link to the REU sites in the field of physics is: http://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/list_result.cfm?unitid=69.

SURF: Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships ( for L&S students - physics is under their jurisdiction) - The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program (SURF) is designed to allow Berkeley undergraduates in the College of Letters and Science to spend the summer doing concentrated research in preparation for a senior thesis or another major capstone research project. Fellows will receive a $2500 summer stipend, which is intended to cover basic living expenses for two months. Details can be found at: http://research.berkeley.edu/surf/index.html.

Summer Research Opportunities Program (Graduate Division) - The Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP) at the University of California, Berkeley, was established to promote access to graduate education among undergraduates who have been educationally or economically disadvantaged, and who may not have had exposure to the academic environment of a research university. Detailed information is available at: http://www.grad.berkeley.edu/gop/srop.shtml.

    Flyers advertising undergraduate summer internships
    and job opportunities are posted on the bulletin board
    outside 368 LeConte.  

Contact program administrators in a timely manner; deadlines are usually highlighted and are as early as beginning of spring semester (January)!!  Always plan ahead.