Research Experience for Undergraduates

Application Information

To receive full consideration for the program, apply online by January 24th, 2025.

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 250–word Statement of Research Interest describing your personal research goals and how you believe this REU experience could help you achieve those goals,
• a 250-word Statement of Impact describing your unique experience in STEM and how this REU will impact your future in physics,
• 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 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, undocumented students and students with DACA status 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 2025 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, 2024 — Applications open!
• December (Date TBD) — Applications office hours with Irene
• January (Date TBD) — Applications office hours with Irene
• January (Date TBD) — UIUC summer programs webinar 
• January 24, 2025 (11:59PM) — Application deadline
• February 21, 2025 — Offer letters sent to REU prospective participants
  • No response is required until after February 28, 2025
• March 7, 2025 — Deadline for REU participant acceptance
• May 24 - May 26, 2025 — REU participants arrive on UIUC campus
• May 27–May 30, 2025 — REU Research Bootcamp
• July 31–August 1, 2025 — REU final project presentations

The REU summer site program of the Department of Physics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is supported by the National Science Foundation  grant PHY-2244433. 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.