Undergraduate Research

Physics majors have the opportunity to work part-time for various research groups. This can help them identify a field of interest should they to decide to continue into graduate school. It can also help in building relationships with graduate students, postdocs and faculty.

There are five ways to get involved in physics research.

  • Part-time and summer employment in a research laboratory
  • Take a course in directed research PHYS 3993, 3994, 5993, 5994
  • Join the University honors program (by the fall of your junior year) and do an honors thesis. To learn more about the program and how you can benefit from it, visit their website at https://honors.umn.edu/prospective-students/why-uhp
  • The Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) summer program.This program is a 10 week summer program that provides a working research environment for undergraduate students. Participants engage in research with faculty and staff of the School of Physics and Astronomy. To learn more, visit their website at https://cse.umn.edu/physics/reu-program
  • Join the University of Minnesota Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) where you have the opportunity to be partnered with a faculty member on a research project. To learn more, visit their website at https://ugresearch.umn.edu/
Grace Elwell at work

REU Student Grace Elwell built a clean room in Vuk Mandic's laboratory as a summer project.

Undergraduate Resources