Research Experience for Undergraduates
The Department of Physics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign hosts a 10-week National Science Foundation (NSF)–sponsored summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU). Offered since 1993, the REU provides undergraduates the opportunity to conduct research under the supervision of our world-class researchers.
Application are open December 1st, 2025
Students participating in this program will spend the summer, May 26th, 2026 – July 31st, 2026 (10 weeks), on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus working directly with senior physics faculty on challenging, meaningful projects. The summer experience is aimed at developing students' research literacy skills and exposing them to the range of physics subfields using experimental, computational, and theoretical approaches:
- Astrophysics, Relativity, and Cosmology
- Atomic, Molecular, and Optical (AMO) Physics
- Biological Physics
- Condensed Matter Physics
- High Energy Physics
- Nuclear Physics
- Physics Education Research
- Quantum Information Science
The NSF-funded REU program can only support citizens or permanent residents (including Green Card holders) of the United States, but the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Department of Physics is excited to host at least one international student each summer.
All students must be enrolled at institutions other than the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Illinois Physics undergraduate students interested in attending an REU program are encouraged to explore options at the national REU website. Illinois students can also contact Irene Lira-Andsager for more information on summer research.
What is it like to be an REU student?
Learn more about our program
REU student housing is provided at an on-campus residence hall (about a 10 minute walk from Loomis Lab) and is fully covered by the program. Housing is suite style, with private bedrooms surrounding a common living room and kitchen. Occasional meals are provided.
Appropriate accommodations will be made for any students with disabilities.
Student stipend is $7,000 for the 10-week summer program.
Travel to and from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus is also covered.
Social activities are an important part of an REU program. Forming connections with your fellow Physics REU students helps build a strong community. To support these connections the following are some of the examples of social activities you will be participating in:
- Introductory Picnic
- Summer Programs Ice Cream Social
- Coffee chats with University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign graduate students and REU alumni
- Volunteering / Outreach Events
- Field Trip to Fermi National Labs
Check out all our 2026 research topics in the Projects tab.
Application Information
To receive full consideration for the program, apply online by January 30th, 2026.
A completed application consists of the following:
- an online application, which requires at least one letter of reference (two letters is strongly recommended) (advice on getting strong reference letters),
- a 1-page personal statement to tell us the following:
- 1 paragraph: your personal research goals and any previous experiences in physics or research that support your selected projects;
- 1 paragraph: your future plans and how your feel the program would benefit you;
- 1 paragraph: why being an REU participant in this program would be meaningful for you;
- Any remaining space: anything else you feel would be important for us to know when evaluating your application
- and an official or unofficial transcript from the most recent semester.
This website (Pathways to Science) has resources with helpful information on preparing applications to summer research programs.
Eligibility
- Students must be currently enrolled (summer 2026) in an undergraduate program at a two-year or four-year institution (recently graduated seniors are not eligible for the program) in physics or a related field.
- Students must be a citizen or a permanent resident of the United States to be eligible for National Science Foundation (NSF) funding.
- NSF funding accounts for 12 student spots in the REU.
- The NSF-funded REU program can only support citizens or permanent residents (including Green Card holders) of the United States.
- This includes U.S. citizens studying abroad.
- International students currently in the U.S. are also welcome to apply to the REU and may be funded by the Physics Department .
- Department funding accounts for a minimum of 1 student spot in the REU.
- Students are best prepared if they have completed their sophomore year by May 2026 with at least 4 semesters of physics and having an average technical (math/physics) grade point average of 3.0/4.0.
- This requirement does not apply to community college students. Interested community college students who have completed one year of studies are very much encouraged to apply to our program.
- Some research topics recommend more prior preparation than others. To review the research topics, check out the Projects tab, or click here.
- Applications are not accepted from currently enrolled students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Timeline
- December 1, 2025 — Applications open!
- December 4, 2026 — UIUC summer programs webinar 6-7:30pm (CT) go.illinois.edu/2026REUInfoSession
- December 2025 — Applications office hours with Irene (date and time TBD)
- January 2026 — Applications office hours with Irene (date and time TBD)
- January 30, 2026 (11:59PM) — Application deadline
- March 2, 2026 — Offer letters sent to REU prospective participants
- March 9, 2026 — Deadline for REU participant acceptance
- May 23–May 25, 2026 — REU participants arrive on Illinois campus
- May 26–May 29, 2026 — REU Research Bootcamp
- July 31, 2026 — REU final project presentations
Research Experience for Undergraduates Contacts
The REU summer site program of the Department of Physics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is supported by the National Science Foundation pending funding for 2026-2028. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed on this website are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Additional funding has been provided by the Department of Physics and by our generous alumni donors.