Astronomical Sciences
NASA Robotics Academy
http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/descriptions/Robotics_Academy.html
Participants work in teams on current robotics projects guided by leading researchers at NASA, local universities or industry. Each team is composed of a team lead and three research associates(RAs). The team lead is an advanced undergraduate or graduate student with a curricular background in robotics. The RAs are incoming freshmen or sophomores.
Host Institution(s)
Various NASA research centers.
Citizenship Requirements
US citizenship or permanent residency.
Eligibility
Research Associates: Rising college freshman and sophomores Team Leads: Junior/senior undergraduates or graduate students High academic standing (GPA 3.0 or higher) Demonstrated prior involvement in robotics Propensity for teamwork
The Seyfert Prize Fellowship for Undergraduate Research
http://astrwww.cwru.edu/seyfertprize.shtml
Physics and astronomy undergraduates who are currently sophomores or juniors are invited to apply for the Seyfert Prize Fellowship in the Department of Astronomy at Case Western Reserve University. The Fellowship will support one student each summer to come to Cleveland and work on cutting-edge astronomical research with a CWRU faculty member. The Seyfert Fellowship will be awarded based on a national competition early each spring, and the term of the award will run from late May - early August.
Host Institution(s)
Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio)
Citizenship Requirements
U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident
Eligibility
Sophomore or junior standing when applying.
NASA Undergraduate Student Research Program
NASA USRP is an internship program that offers NASA research and development opportunities to undergraduate students. USRP internship opportunities give students the ultimate workforce preparatory experience for careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). USRP is one of most highly comprehensive internship programs for undergraduate students within the STEM majors. Students work on practical problems that will see real applications in aerospace or on future NASA missions. These immersive NASA opportunities combine scientific research with professional hands-on engineering. A USRP internship will be the first step toward a career at NASA, or within the science and engineering workforce. USRP internship opportunities are offered year round in the Fall, Summer and Spring.
Host Institution(s)
Various NASA Centers throughout the United States.
Citizenship Requirements
U.S. Citizenship: permanent residents or other visa categories are not accepted.
Eligibility
The NASA-USRP seeks applications from undergraduates enrolled full-time in an accredited U.S. college or university. Applicants must be classified as rising sophomores, juniors or seniors at the beginning of the first session for which they are applying. Highly qualified applicants must be pursuing an undergraduate degree that meets NASA's critical competency needs. Eligible fields of study are academic majors or demonstrated coursework concentration in engineering, mathematics, computer science or physical/life sciences.
Lunar Exploration Summer Intern Program
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar_intern/index.shtml
After a 35-year hiatus, NASA is returning humans to the Moon. The agency and its partners in academia, industry, and the international community are engaged in an exciting new exploration initiative designed to study the lunar surface robotically beginning in 2008 and with crewed landers before 2020. NASA asked the National Research Council (NRC) to develop a set of science priorities for this lunar exploration initiative. To help integrate those science priorities with NASA's exploration program, the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) is hosting a special summer intern program to evaluate possible landing sites for robotic and human exploration missions. Four to six interns will work with LPI science staff and other collaborators to evaluate the best landing sites to address each of the NRC’s science priorities. This will be a unique team activity that should foster extensive discussions among students and senior science team members.
Host Institution(s)
Lunar and Planetary Institute (Houston, TX)
Citizenship Requirements
The program is open to international graduate students and undergraduates as well as students from the United States.
Eligibility
This program is open to graduate students in geology, planetary science, and related programs. It is also open to undergraduates with at least 50 semester hours of credit so that they, too, can participate in lunar exploration activities.
NRAO Summer Student Research Assistantships
http://science.nrao.edu/opportunities/summerstudents.shtml
The NRAO has conducted a summer student research program since 1959, with over 930 participants to date. Each NRAO summer student conducts research under the supervision of an NRAO staff member at one of three NRAO sites ( Socorro, New Mexico; Green Bank, West Virginia; Charlottesville, Virginia), on a project in the supervisor's area of expertise. The project may involve any aspect of astronomy, including original research, instrumentation, telescope design, astronomical site evaluation or astronomical software development.
Host Institution(s)
National Radio Astronomy Observatory (New Mexico, West Virginia, and Virginia)
Citizenship Requirements
See Eligibility and website for details.
Eligibility
Undergraduate students or graduating college seniors who are citizens, are from an accredited U.S. Undergraduate Program, or otherwise eligible to work in the United States. 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.
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) Space Astronomy Summer Program
http://www.stsci.edu/institute/sd/students
Each summer, the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) brings a dozen highly motivated college students to Baltimore, Maryland, for a Space Astronomy Summer Program. The Space Telescope Science Institute is the scientific operations center for the Hubble Space Telescope and for the future James Webb Space Telescope. The Space Astronomy Summer Program runs ten weeks, from mid-June to mid-August, and is designed for upper division undergraduates with a strong interest in space astronomy. Students work individually with STScI researchers and staff on research projects that might include data reduction and interpretation, software development, scientific writing, preparing data for public releases. The program affords students the opportunity to attend lectures on a variety of exciting topics related to space astronomy, the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes.
Host Institution(s)
Space Telescope Science Institute (Baltimore, MD)
Citizenship Requirements
Open to international students.
Eligibility
The SSP is aimed at college undergraduates between their junior and senior years. However, we also accept exceptional students in earlier years and beginning graduate students. If you think you would benefit from our program, you are encouraged to apply. The program is open to students from the US and from other countries. There are no restrictions on who may apply.
Summer Student Opportunities at the U.S. Naval Observatory
Work in summer positions is closely supervised by a designated mentor and may involve any of the following activities: assisting scientists in planning and collecting measurements or predicting astronomical phenomena; analyzing data according to established procedures; preparing reports, diagrams, charts, and graphs, as needed; developing software to improve the accuracy or efficiency of data analysis, or to account for phenomena not previously considered. These duties generally require the use of personal computers, including word processing, spreadsheet, and graphics packages, statistical software, and specialized programs.
Host Institution(s)
The U.S. Naval Observatory (Washington, DC and Flagstaff, AZ)
Citizenship Requirements
See site for details. U.S. Citizenship is highly preferred.
Eligibility
Must be an undergraduate student.
Summer Intern Program in Lunar and Planetary Science
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lpiintern/
The Lunar and Planetary Institute invites undergraduates with at least 50 semester hours of credit to experience cutting-edge research in the lunar and planetary sciences. As a Summer Intern, you will work one-on-one with a scientist at the LPI or at the NASA Johnson Space Center on a research project of current interest in lunar and planetary science. The Summer Intern Program allows participants to experience a real research environment, to learn from top-notch lunar and planetary scientists, and to preview careers in research.
Host Institution(s)
Lunar and Planetary Science Institute (Houston, TX)
NASA Johnson Space Center (Houston, TX)
Citizenship Requirements
Open to U.S. and international undergraduate students.
Eligibility
Must be a college undergraduate with at least 50 semester hours.
UC Berkeley – Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP)
http://www.grad.berkeley.edu/diversity/srop.shtml
The goal of this program is to increase the level of diversity among students entering Ph.D. programs by providing research opportunities under the supervision of a faculty mentor. Special consideration will be given to applicants who have shown potential for success, but may have had limited access to graduate research or other academic opportunities.
Host Institution(s)
University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley, CA)
Citizenship Requirements
Citizens or Permanent Residents of the United States
Eligibility
• sophomores (who have completed at least three semesters or four quarters of actual college course work), juniors, and seniors who will not be graduating in the spring (However, graduating UC Berkeley seniors are eligible.)
• have a 3.0 or better cumulative grade point average.
• have shown potential for success, but may have had limited access to graduate research or other preparatory opportunities; the applicant should indicate his/her potential for success particularly as it relates to educational achievement while overcoming obstacles, which may include, but are not limited to economic, social, or educational challenges.
California Institute of Technology Summer Internship Program
Caltech's Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships program introduces students to research under the guidance of seasoned research mentors at Caltech and JPL. Students experience the process of research as a creative intellectual activity.
Host Institution(s)
Caltech (Pasadena, CA)
Citizenship Requirements
See Website
Eligibility
See Website