Summer Research

Do something extraordinary this summer

Summer offers an ideal time for you to dive into research, either on campus, at another elite university, research institute, or company. It provides an extended, concentrated amount of time to focus on a certain research topic without the obligations of a standard semester course load.

Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU)

TResearch Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) are offered by different universities, institutions, and agencies nationwide. These experiences give you the opportunity to actively participate in research and work with faculty and researchers on ongoing research projects.

Through these experiences, you develop not just your research skills, but also your interpersonal skills. You are able to explore your fields of interest, perform research, and build relationships with scholars. If you're interested in graduate school, this experience may open doors to that opportunity. These are also great ways to make new friends and to travel!

National Science Foundation REU

The National Science Foundation (NSF) REU provides indirect funding for undergraduate students to participate in research. The NSF REU program sites may be based in a single discipline or academic department or may offer interdisciplinary or multi-departmental research opportunities with a coherent intellectual theme. An NSF REU site may be located in the United States or different country. Students participating in REUs are generally provided a stipend, housing, and transportation to and from the site.

Illinois REUs

Frontiers in Biomedical Imaging

Train and perform research at the forefront of biomedicine using advanced imaging and microscopy technologies. Contact: Prof. Marina Marjanovic (marinam@illinois.edu) (217-244-6221)

Emergent Behaviors of Integrated Cellular Systems (EBICS)

Conduct research pertaining to cellular systems that may help to solve problems in health, security, and environment. Contact: EBICS Admin(ebics_admin@mit.edu)

The Center for Power Optimization of Electro-Thermal Systems (POETS)

Work on research projects to help increase the power density of current mobile electrified systems by 10-100 times the current state of the art. Contact: Joe Muskin (jmuskin@illinois.edu) (217-265-6481) or Dr. Jessica Perez (jgperez@illinois.edu) (217-300-5866)

Physics at Illinois

Work on challenging, meaningful projects focused on the diversity of physics subfields. Contact: Professor Karin Dahmen (dahmen@illinois.edu) (217-244-8873)

Illinois Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (I-MRSEC)

Solve a challenging, meaningful scientific question by taking part in the interdisciplinary innovative materials research. Contact: Dr. Pamela Pena Martin (pmartin9@illinois.edu) (217-300-6699)

Illinois Space Grant Consortium – Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program

Conduct research on NASA-related science and engineering topics. Contact: Diane Jeffers (dejeffer@illinois.edu )(217-244-8048)

Incubating a New Community of Leaders Using Software, Inclusion, Innovation, Interdisciplinary and Open-Science (REU-INCLUSION)

Work on interdisciplinary socially-impactful research projects that develop and use open source software (OSS). Contact: Dr. Daniel Katz (dskatz@illinois.edu) (217-244-8000) or Olena Kindratenko (kindrat2@illinois.edu. ) (217-300-0247)

Summer Undergraduate Research Experience in Toxicology (SURE Tox)

Train and perform research in the field of toxicology. Contact: Prof. Jodi Flaws (jflaws@illinois.edu) (217-333-7933) or Prof. Romana Nowak (ranowak@illinois.edu) (217-244-3902)

Carle Illinois College of Medicine REACH

Participate in an intensive clinical and research immersion summer experience in the field of medicine. Contact: Lisa Goodpaster (lisag18@illinois.edu )(217-300-7103)

Summer Research Opportunities @ Illinois (SROP)

Work on a research project in various fields of study and learn more about graduate school. Contact: I-SROP@illinois.edu

International Research Opportunities

The Grainger College of Engineering departments have partnerships with universities abroad to offer research opportunities for you.

Summer Research through the International Programs in Engineering (IPENG)

IPENG provides international engineering research abroad opportunities to engineering students within The Grainger College of Engineering at Urbana-Champaign. These opportunities are offered in the summer, fall, or spring semesters. All research is reviewed by the respective chief department advisors upon return to campus to determine if a student will receive technical credit. Applications deadlines vary. 

This is a summer research internship where you participate in two workshop-based “courses” in science and engineering. CityU will direct you to the appropriate laboratory according to your background information provided in the application and CV. In addition to research, you will participate in outside cultural activities and industrial visits to gain a brief understanding of industrial establishments in Hong Kong and a better understanding of Chinese culture. Possible research areas are:

  • Civil, Structural Geotechnical and Architectural Engineering
  • Coastal Pollution and Conservation
  • Software Engineering
  • Electronic packaging
  • Communication Engineering
  • Applied Mathematics and Computational Mathematics
  • Manufacturing and Quality Engineering
  • Mechatronics and Automation
  • Physics and Materials Science

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You can choose a research project in the IREP project database or suggest your own project for the summer, fall, or spring semester. Under the supervision of an international research group and your individual IREP supervisor, you will learn the newest research methods and how to apply these state-of-the-art research skills to real-life scientific problems while improving your ability to communicate and team-work. Your IREP supervisor will support and guide you throughout your research project. At the end of the research project, you are required to compile your results and solutions in a scientific paper and give a final presentation to fellow researchers. To foster a better understanding of Germany and help you to navigate through everyday life, you will be introduced to German language and culture by means of the orientation program at the beginning of the program. An inter-cultural workshop, guided tours, and an excursion to Heidelberg will round up this exciting program. If you participate in research in the fall or spring term, courses can be taken in social sciences, humanities, and technical areas. School begins in October and runs through July with a two month break. Students usually arrive in Darmstadt around the first part of September to participate in an intensive language session.

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Spend 8 weeks conducting research at one of the top universities in the world. The National University of Singapore (NUS) is internationally respected for its high-quality research in science, technology and the humanities — and, increasingly, at the interfaces between these areas.

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You may choose to only do research during the summer study program at POSTECH or you may do research and participate in the POSTECH English Only Dormitory Program (PENDP). This program can be extended through fall semester.

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You will spend 4 or 8 weeks during May and/or June/July taking language and culture classes and performing research in UPCo labs under the technical guidance and supervision of skilled professors with a good command of the English language.

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Laboratory Research starts on the second day of the program and is held six hours daily Monday thru Friday. Language and Culture classes are held 1 day per week for 2 hours and there are some field trips during the program.

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Global Research Scholars (GRS) is a unique, research-intensive study abroad program designed for talented undergraduate students of all engineering majors. The program combines a study abroad experience with the opportunity to join a research team abroad at an IPENG partner school. GRS participants receive a scholarship and present their research findings in the fall at the International Research Symposium that is part of the Engineering Research Fair.