Apply Now for NRAO Summer Student Programs
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) is pleased to announce that we are accepting applications for the 2016 cohort of our summer student programs. These programs — which offer opportunities for direct engagement in scientific research and technology featuring specialized instrumentation; large-scale, multidisciplinary efforts; and/or scientific user facilities — are available for undergraduate students enrolled at community colleges and/or four-year institutions; some programs are also available for graduate students.
Applications for these competitive programs must be completed and submitted online by 5:00 pm EST on 1 February 2016, including all required application materials and recommendations. The 2016 summer-term placements are for a 10-week duration in the May-to-August time frame.
The following NRAO summer programs are now accepting applications:
The National Astronomy Consortium (NAC) is a program led by the NRAO and Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), in partnership with the National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP) and a number of minority and majority universities to increase the number of students from underrepresented groups and those otherwise overlooked by the traditional academic pipeline into STEM or STEM-related careers.
About the program: The NAC is a 10-12 week program from June to August. The cornerstone of the NAC program is career-long mentoring, using a cohort model to develop professional relationships and support systems. The program develops and maintains long-term partnerships between minority- and majority-serving universities and institutions, allowing students access to a variety of research topics, professional-development opportunities, and mentors.
Student Benefits: Students are provided with a stipend and travel assistance and continue research over the fall semester with the NAC mentor in preparation for the winter AAS meeting. The NAC experience is year-long and includes monthly virtual "hangouts."
Additional Information: In 2015, cohorts were located at NRAO-Charlottesville, NRAO-Socorro, U. Wisconsin-Madison, NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center, and the Space Telescope Science Institute.
NAC applications will be accepted until 1 February 2016 at NRAO’s Summer Student Research Assistantship application portal. For additional information and program timeline, please visit the NRAO NAC webpage.
NRAO Summer Student Research Assistantship Programs
The NRAO summer student program has had 930+ participants since 1959. Each student conducts research under the supervision of an NRAO staff member that may involve any aspect of astronomy, including original research, instrumentation, telescope design, or software development. These projects often result in scientific publications. This program is open to undergraduates and graduate students.
NRAO Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program is for undergraduates who are citizens or permanent residents of the United States or its possessions and is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program.
NRAO Undergraduate Summer Student Research Assistantships are for undergraduate students or graduating college seniors who are citizens or permanent residents of the United States or its possessions or who are eligible for a Curriculum Practical Training (CPT) from an accredited US undergraduate program. This program primarily supports students or research projects which do not meet the REU guidelines, such as graduating college seniors, some foreign undergraduate students, or projects involving pure engineering or computer programming.
NRAO Graduate Summer Student Research Assistantships are for graduate students who are citizens or permanent residents of the US or its possessions or who are eligible for a Curriculum Practical Training (CPT) from an accredited US graduate program.
In each of these programs, the student spends 10-12 weeks over the summer conducting research under the supervision of a member of the NRAO staff. Students with a background in astronomy, physics, engineering, computer science, and/or math are preferred. See our Summer Student Research Assistantships page for further information.
If you have questions, please email [email protected].