Undergraduate Contacts

Student Services Specialist

Student Services Officer

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 application (informational) is due noon on Friday, January 17, 2025. CLICK HERE for the application. 

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 application (project and mentor specific) is due noon on Friday, February 21, 2025. CLICK HERE for the application. 

Part 2 of the application will require 3 attachments to the Google form: 

1. Summary- The file must have your name on top. A brief (no more than one page) summary of your proposed research project that includes: 

  • The overall physics goal of the project
  • What you will do, as best as you understand it now
  • What you hope to learn and/or accomplish this summer

All summary proposals must either be compatible with remote work (and state that explicitly) or include an alternate remote option in case of campus-wide emergency situation that does not allow for in-person research. Proposals that do not have a remote project plan will not be considered.

The name of this summary file must be formatted as Lastname_Firstname_summary.pdf, e.g., Carbajal_Elva_summary.pdf

2. An unofficial Stanford transcript that includes Fall 2024 grades and a list of your Winter 2025 courses. You should download your transcript after the winter quarter add/drop deadline. The name of this file must be formatted as Lastname_Firstname_transcript.pdf, e.g. Carbajal_Elva_transcript.pdf

3. Faculty-Mentor Agreement Form (Google doc version OR fillable PDF version). Either make a copy of the Google doc or download it. Have your faculty mentor sign it, save it as a pdf, and upload the pdf named 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 17, 2025): Online Application form. All students must complete this form.
  • Part 2 (due by noon on February 21, 2025): Below is a list of items you will need to submit.
    • A one-page description/summary of the research work you will do this summer as you currently understand it.
    • A copy of your unofficial Stanford transcript through Winter quarter 2025 (download after add/drop deadline)
    • A signed 2025 Faculty Agreement Form.
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