Undergraduate Contacts
Director Undergraduate Studies
choosingphysics [at] stanford.edu (Pre-Major Advising)
How to apply
Last updated: 4 December 2023
Eligibility Requirements
- Current freshmen, sophomores, and juniors are eligible to apply. Current sophomores and juniors must be declared Physics or Engineering Physics majors by the application due date.
- Co-term students who do not have their B.S. degree and have not yet entered the graduate part of their program are also eligible to apply.
- See FAQ page for detailed eligibility requirements for rising 5th-year or coterminal students.
- Current juniors who have previously been funded through this program must apply for a Major Grant — start now!
Application Process
We have a two-part application process, as detailed below. All applicants will be notified of a yes/no/waitlist decision by the end of March.
Part 1 (informational) was due noon on Friday, January 19, 2024.
In the first part of the application process, you will fill out an online application form. The form will ask questions about your background, experience, and interests. You do not need any prior experience to participate in the research program. This application is informational; your answers will be used in a match-making capacity only, not as a metric to determine who is accepted to the program. Based on your responses, you will be matched with a faculty mentor, either with our help and/or by contacting faculty mentors on your own (see the Research Positions page for suggestions to help identify a faculty mentor). All students must submit this part of the application, even if you have already identified a potential faculty mentor.
Part 2 (project and mentor specific) is due noon on Friday, February 23, 2024.
Part 2 of the application will require a short (1 page) statement named Lastname_Firstname_summary.pdf, e.g., Carbajal_Elva_summary.pdf. This summary statement file should include the following:
1. A brief summary of your proposed research project. Include a description of:
a) the overall physics goal of the project and b) what you will be working on for the project, as best you understand it now.
2. A description of what you hope to learn and/or accomplish this summer.
3. New due to COVID: If your project is not compatible with remote work, you will also need to submit a suitably altered project description that can be completed remotely.
In addition, you will be asked to submit:
- Your unofficial transcript downloaded after January 26, i.e., after the Winter drop/add deadline with grades through Fall 2023; name this file as Lastname_Firstname_transcript.pdf e.g. Carbajal_Elva_transcript.pdf
- The Faculty-Mentor Agreement is available as a view-only Docx file that you should download, have your faculty mentor sign, save as a pdf, and then you upload it with the other documents for Part 2. Name this file as Lastname_Firstname_FMA.pdf e.g. Carbajal_Elva_FMA.pdf
Faculty Mentor
Prior to submitting the Application, you need to find a faculty member to be your research mentor for the summer. Many faculty members make positions available for undergraduates to do research over the summer. Refer to the table of available positions at Undergraduate Summer Research Positions to find potential projects and faculty members with whom you may be interested in working. The table also includes information on skills or coursework needed (often minimal!), whether at least one project is suitable for beginning students, etc. You are encouraged to contact faculty members directly to discuss available opportunities. In addition, for students that request it, we plan to help you identify potential faculty mentors based on the answers to part 1 of the application.
Note that this table of available positions is only a list of suggestions—you may work with any faculty member in Physics, Applied Physics, or SLAC.
Those who wish to work with faculty in the School of Engineering should apply to that faculty member's department; see this SoE REU webpage for information.
What to Submit:
- Part 1 (due by noon on January 19, 2024): Online Application form. All students must complete this form.
- Part 2 (due by noon on February 23, 2024): Below is a list of items you will need to submit.
- A one-page description/abstract of the research work you will do this summer as you currently understand it.
- A copy of your unofficial Stanford transcript through Fall Quarter 2023.
- A signed 2024 Faculty Agreement Form.