Beyond the Classroom Opportunities

Students are encouraged to participate in individual study, research,  internships, or summer science institute (SSI), all of which provide opportunities for learning outside the typical classroom structure. In most cases, the students receive individual attention from their faculty advisor and internship mentor. These activities are invaluable and often help students establish career interests. The projects are quite diverse and may be experimental or theoretical in nature.

Most students who participate in individual research do so in the Fall and Spring semesters of their senior year. The research project can be use to satisfy part of the requirement toward graduating with departmental honors and/or the experiential learning general education requirement. Additionally, students can apply to participate in research over the summer months. In all cases, students may be offered an opportunity to present their results at local, state and national conferences. Select the individual research link to view examples of research topics.

Internships in industry or with the government provide opportunities for students to gain field experiences, while simultaneously accumulating credit toward the major. Internship sponsors such as NASA and the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division work with the department to establish individual objectives. The assessment at the end of the activity is jointly determined by the sponsor and the department faculty. Select the internships link to view examples of various projects.

You can find a detailed list of all the physics REU at NSF.