College of Science and Mathematics

Department of Physics

248 Fawcett Hall
(937) 775-2955
physics@wright.edu

Internships and Scholarships

to APS physics jobs information

Physics Department Opportunties

We often need undergraduate and graduate students to be teaching assistants in the introductory laboratories, be a Supplemental Instruction Leader, be a grader for a particular course, cover hours in the tutor room, or assist with other departmental needs related to teaching or research. We also get requests from AFRL and contractors to help find students for internships. Please contact Kelly Burcham in the Physics Office if you would like to be considered for any of these opportunties. Her hours are from 8:30-12:00 each day in 248 Fawcett Hall and her email is kelly.burcham@wright.edu.

  • Laboratory Teaching Assistant
    Teach laboratories for the PHY1100, PHY1120, PHY2400, PHY2410, PHY1050, or PHY1060 introductory or general education courses.
  • Supplemental Instruction (SI)
    SI Instructors help students review course concepts, improve their study habits, and become better prepared for exams and course assignments. A trained SI student leader, working in consultation with the professor, conducts routine SI group study sessions outside of the class throughout the quarter. Students enrolled in the class may attend as many of the free SI sessions as they desire in order to review course material and have concepts reinforced.
  • Graders
    Grade homework for the PHY1100, PHY1120, PHY2400, PHY2410, PHY1050, or PHY1060 introductory or general education courses and one some occations or the mid-level physics majors courses.
  • Tutor
    Be availabe to answer walk-in questions in the tutor room, mostly related to the introductory physics courses (PHY1100, PHY1120, PHY2400, PHY2410).

Research Experiences/Internships/Co-ops

We receive opening announcements on a regular basis and many of our majors are or have been employed with area companies such as Air Force Research Laboratories, Cornerstone Research, Defense Research Associates, Mound Labs, Photon-X, Prime Control, SET Associates, Spectral Energetics, Spectral Energies.
Students can also carry out research experiences at other universities and they have gone to such places as Cornell, Harvard, and University of Maryland.

  • Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Scholars in Albuquerque, New Mexico
    AFRL Scholars Brochure
    Undergraduate and Graduate Scholars programs. One of our former WSU Physics graduated recommended this program and works at Kirtland AFB.
  • Southwestern Ohio Council for Higher Education (SOCHE) Student Intern Program
  • SOCHE Homepage
    Places physics, science and engineering students at AFRL and AFIT on WPAFB. Submit your application and they will distribute it. Jobs are not usually listed on the SOCHE site, so we suggest submitting an application. This is typically for students local to the Dayton region.
  • Wright^Edge Academic Pipeline Experiential Scholarship
    The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is instituting an unique scholarship program to foster an intense experiential learning experience in residence at the Tec^Edge Innovation and Collaboration Center. It's primarily focused on undergraduate students but will consider others on a case by case basis. The goal of the program is to help educate undergraduates and recruit the next generation of scientists and engineers into graduate schools and to focus on potential careers at the Air Force Research Laboratory, other government labs, or in supporting industries. All STEM related majors, including physic, will be considered. Talk to Dr. Petkie for more information.
  • WSU Career Services
    Search for positions listed by the Career Services site. These are mostly on campus jobs, but companies and organization other than WSU also use this.
  • WSU Undergraduate Research Opportunties Program
    Visit this site to find research opportunities on and off the WSU campus. There is another extensive set of links to interships and other research opportunties on this page.
  • Pathways to Science
    Use this website to find programs such as undergraduate summer research opportunities, graduate fellowships, as well of other STEM opportunites that physics students would be interested in.
  • National Science Foundation's Research Experience for Undergraduates (NSF REU)
    NSF funds a large number of research opportunities for undergraduate students through its REU Sites program. An REU Site consists of a group of ten or so undergraduates who work in the research programs of the host institution. Each student is associated with a specific research project, where he/she works closely with the faculty and other researchers. Students are granted stipends and, in many cases, assistance with housing and travel.
  • Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy (SARA) Research Experiences for Undergraduates Summer Intern program (SARA REU)
    SARA is a consortium of the ten universities. Our mission is to foster astronomical research and education in the southeastern United States. Our REU program has operated since 1995. We host 10 interns per year. Each participant will receive a stipend of $4500 for the summer. In addition, all necessary lodging and travel expenses during the summer will be paid by SARA, including up to $500 round-trip travel between the student's home and SARA host institution. Deadline is Friday Feb 1, 2013.
  • APS/IBM Research Internships for Undergraduate Women
    The goal of the internship is to encourage women students to pursue graduate studies in science and engineering. Deadline February 1.
  • APS/IBM Research Internships for Underrepresented Minority Students.
    The goal is to encourage under-represented minority students to pursue graduate studies in science and engineering. Deadline February 1.
  • Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF)
    The Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) sponsors and APS administers the exchange of physicists and physics graduate students between India and the United States. Deadline March 31

Undergraduate Scholarships

  • WSU Physics Scholarships
    The Physics Department will award scholarships for the 2011-2012 Academic Year.
    • Physics Scholarship
      Awarded to incoming direct admit students into the physics program. Must have at least a HS 3.0 GPA. Please contact the physics department for more information.
    • Gust Bambakidis Scholarship
      This scholarship is open to undergraduate Physics majors who are registered full-time and progressing toward a degree. Applicants must have accumulated at least a 2.75 grade point average, taken PHY240 and be registered for the rest of the sequence in the quarter the scholarship is in force, and have FR or SO status. Special consideration will be given to applicants who demonstrate exceptional involvement in Physics courses and laboratories or in the Society of Physics Students.
    • Merrill L. Andrews Memorial Scholarship
      The application process is open to undergraduate Physics or Engineering Physics majors who are registered full-time and progressing toward a degree. Applicants must have accumulated at least a 3.2 grade point average with more than ten quarter hours completed in Physics 200 or above or have at least a 3.2 grade point average in all Physics courses with 18 or more quarter hours completed in Physics at level 200 or above. Special consideration will be given to applicants who demonstrate exceptional involvement in Physics courses and laboratories or in the Society of Physics Students.
    Application forms available by clicking here.

  • SMART Program
    Two-year scholarships are being offered to sophomores (US citizens only) by the Department of Defense. There is a requirement to work with a scientist/engineer at Wright-Patterson AFB and a service obligation after graduation.

  • NATIONAL PHYSICAL SCIENCE CONSORTIUM Fellowship
    The National Physical Science Consortium is a partnership between government agencies and laboratories, industry, and higher education. NPSC's goal is to increase the number of American citizens with graduate degrees in the physical sciences and related engineering fields, emphasizing recruitment of a diverse applicant pool including women and minorities. Students may apply during their senior year in college, or in the first year or two of graduate school. End of November Applciation Deadline!

  • Minorities in Physics
    The American Physical Society is committed to the inclusion of underrepresented minorities in physics and has spent decades working on programs to increase recruitment and retention of African American, Hispanic American and Native American physicists.

  • APS Scholarship for Underrepresented Minorities
    Any African-American, Hispanic American, or Native American U.S. citizen or permanent resident who is majoring or planning to major in physics, and who is a high school senior, college freshman, or sophomore is eligible to apply. Engineering physics and applied physics majors also welcome to apply Deadline February 1.

  • Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship
    This is a program by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Approximately 100 UGs (US citizens only) who will be juniors in Fall semester will be selected as Hollings scholars Fall of that year.

  • Glenn Stokes Scholarships for Minority Students

  • AAPT Scholarships
    Posted: 2005
    The American Association of Physics Teachers is offering two $2,000 scholarship for future high-school physics teachers. This scholarship is available only to U.S. citizens attending a U.S. school. Undergraduate students in, or planning to enter, physics teacher preparation curricula and high-school seniors planning to enter such curricula are eligible. Successful applicants, normally two per year, will receive a stipend of up to $2,000. The scholarship may be granted to an individual for each of four years. Deadline: December 1.

  • Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellow
    The Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship seeks to attract talented, committed individuals with backgrounds in the STEM fields-science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-into teaching in high-need secondary schools in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. Eligible applicants include current undergraduates, recent college graduates, midcareer professionals, and retirees who have majored in, or had careers in, STEM fields.

  • International Research Experience for Students
    Deadline: Feb 15, Sep 15

  • NASA Aeronautics Scholarship Program
    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is proud to offer fellowships to students in their undergraduate and graduate careers.

Graduate Fellowships/Scholarships

  • Graduate Council Scholarships (GCS's)
    GCS currently provides a yearly stipend of $12,000 with full remission of tuition and fees. No special application is necessary; the department will nominate qualified candidates. However, candidates should have applied for admission to the department before March; decisions are made in May.
  • Graduate Tuition Scholarships (GTS's)
    GTS's provide tuition payments. It is normally intended for new students. Both full and partial scholarships are available. Please contact the department chair if interested.
  • Graduate Research Fellowship Program (US citizens only)

    • The National Science Foundation aims to ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in the United States and to reinforce its diversity by offering approximately 1,000 graduate fellowships in this competition. The Graduate Research Fellowship provides three years of support for graduate study leading to research-based master’s or doctoral degrees and is intended for students who are at the early stages of their graduate study.
    Deadline: November.

  • SMART Program
    Two-year scholarships are being offered to sophomores (US citizens only) by the Department of Defense. There is a requirement to work with a scientist/engineer at Wright-Patterson AFB and a service obligation after graduation.


  • NATIONAL PHYSICAL SCIENCE CONSORTIUM Fellowship
    The National Physical Science Consortium is a partnership between government agencies and laboratories, industry, and higher education. NPSC's goal is to increase the number of American citizens with graduate degrees in the physical sciences and related engineering fields, emphasizing recruitment of a diverse applicant pool including women and minorities. Students may apply during their senior year in college, or in the first year or two of graduate school. End of November Applciation Deadline!

  • National Defense Science & Engineering Graduate Fellowship (US citizens only)

    • NDSEG fellowships are intended for students at or near the beginning of their graduate studies.
    Deadline: January.

  • Hertz Graduate Fellowships (US citizens/PR only)
    Applicants must be applying to or be presently enrolled in a PhD program.
    Deadline: October.

  • Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowships (US citizens/PR only)
    For those planning a career in teaching and research at the college or university level.
    Deadline: November.

  • East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes for U. S. Graduate Students (US citizens only)

    • For eight-week research experience in Australia, China, Japan, Korea or Taiwan.
    Deadline: December.
  • International Research Experience for Students
    Deadline: February, September

  • NASA Aeronautics Scholarship Program
    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is proud to offer fellowships to students in their undergraduate and graduate careers.

Postdoctorical Opportunities

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