How to Apply
Thea application portal for the Summer 2025 Program will open soon.
How to Apply to the UT Austin Astronomy NSF REU Summer 2025 Program
Please see our FAQ page for common questions.
Eligibility: As per NSF rules, eligible applicants must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or permanent resident. Applicants must already be enrolled as an undergraduate student (outside UT Austin) at the time of applying to our REU program and must have a graduation date of April 2026 or later. The UT Austin Astronomy NSF REU Summer 2025 program will run for ten weeks from Saturday May 24/2024 to Saturday August 2/2024 and only students who can commit to participating in person in all ten weeks of the program are eligible for admission. We especially encourage applications from students who are from institutions with limited research opportunities or/and are from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented backgrounds in STEM (e.g., first-generation college students, Pell grant recipients, students with disabilities, U.S. veterans, gender minorities, and racial/ethnic minorities, including African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders).
Deadline to Apply: The application page will open mid-December 2024 and applications are due by 10 am CT on February 10/2025
Application Process: To apply follow the steps below. If you have questions, please contact the Astronomy Department REU coordinator through utastro_reu@utlists.utexas.edu or 512-471-3000
The application portal for the Summer 2025 Program will open soon.
To apply, carefully read the information below and which documents are required for your application to be considered complete.
1) Complete the Interfolio application form to provide essential background information.
2) Within this application, you will send electronic requests for a Confidential Letter of Recommendation to two references. At least one reference must be a Professor, Academic Advisor, or Research Supervisor /Mentor.
The references will be sent requests by first adding them as new contacts in the applications "required forms" section under the "Confidential Letters of Recommendation" category.
A link on how to send these letters of recommendation request "within application" is provided here: https://product-help.interfolio.com/managing-letters-and-requests/request-letters-of-recommendation
It is very important to send the request for Letters of Recommendation within the application or else the letters will not be attached as part of your UT Astronomy NSF REU applicaton and your applicaton will be marked incomplete and exlcuded from the review process.
On the application form, please provide the name and contact information for two references whom you are sending the electronic requests for letters of recommendation. We only require two references, but if you wish to submit a third reference, you can include their information too. Please ask your references to submit their letters of as soon as possible and no later than the application deadline as your application is not complete until we receive these letters of recommendation within your application.
3) The following documents are required to submit an application. Please add these files in the appropropriate category of the "required documents" section.
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Statement of Purpose (SOP): Please upload your SOP with a page limit of two pages addressing the following points. Describe why you are interested in this REU program and how you envision it will impact you. What are your research and career goals for this program and in the long term? Describe how your lived experiences, background, academic and research interests, and other relevant activities prepare and motivate you to succeed in this program. Please name your file: LastName_FirstName_SOP.pdf
- Your resume or curriculum vitae (CV). Please name your file: LastName_FirstName_CV.pdf
- Your OFFICIAL college transcript. Please name your file: LastName_FirstName_Transcript.pdf Applications without official trancripts added under the appropriate required document category will be considered incomplete and removed from the review process.
4) Submit your application.
