REU Application
Our joint REU application will be available here from December 15 – March 15. This application enables you to apply for all the summer research opportunities coordinated through the BU Photonics Center, funded by the programs listed below:
- NSF REU Site in Integrated Nanomanufacturing (10 positions)
- NSF REU Opportunities in Cellular Metamaterials for Cardiac Tissue Engineering (1-2 positions)
- NSF REU Site in Translational Biophotonics (10 positions)
Application review begins in mid-January, and students will be admitted on a rolling basis beginning in mid-February.
This REU program prohibits direct contact with faculty mentors or PIs (Principal Investigators) during the application process, to ensure a fair and level playing field for all applicants. Faculty have been instructed to forward any emails from applicants to program administrators. Our REU admissions committee will determine the top candidates for the program. This ensures that every applicant is evaluated by the same standardized criteria rather than who happens to lobby a mentor via email.
Our application review is holistic. Reviewers will examine letters of recommendation, grades, course work, responses to the application questions, and research/work experience (if any). Students who are the best fit for our program are forwarded to the course directors/mentors for final acceptance and placement. Applicants may be asked to talk with a mentor/lab prior to selection.
Prior research experience is not required. Preference is given to highly motivated novice researchers and students who do not have access to comparable research opportunities at their home institutions.
WHAT MAKES A GREAT APPLICATION?
The best applications are authentically yours, written by you in your unique voice to tell your unique story. Honesty, passion, and your own voice are greatly appreciated by our reviewers. We suggest that you don’t rely on ChatGPT to write your open-ended answers. You are much better than ChatGPT at expressing why and how you will be a good fit for our program.
We also like to see that an applicant has done some research and can tell us why our program seems like a good fit for them. Clearly mention how this specific program will help you achieve your goals. Although “gaining scientific research experience” and “preparing for graduate school” are excellent reasons to do an REU program, try to be more specific about why you wish to do a research project at BU. We look for applicants who will both benefit from and contribute to our program.
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
Our application consists of standard identity and demographic questions plus the following long answer questions to help us understand your research interests, motivations, longer term aspirations, and potential lab placements:
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- Please list briefly any skills you have that are relevant to research.
- If you have prior research experience, please briefly describe your experience here. If none, please type “NA.”
- If you have prior (non-research) work or volunteer experience, please briefly describe here. If none, please type “NA.”
- What qualities, characteristics, and skills will you bring to our REU program as a result of your work, hobbies and interests, volunteering, and other life experiences?
- Please tell us about your research interests and career goals. What motivates your interests? Which classes or prior experiences sparked your curiosity and passion?
- Please identify specific research areas that interest you – for example, photonics, biomechanics, biomaterials, neuroscience, robotics, translating science from the lab to the clinic, tissue engineering, etc. This information can help us place you in a lab.
- How will this REU experience support your academic and career goals?
APPLICATION DOCUMENTS
As part of your application, you will be asked to upload a copy of your unofficial
academic transcript (PDF, JPEG, or PNG format).
Applicants are invited (but not required) to upload a resume.
For your application to be complete, we will also need to receive one letter of recommendation from a professor, research mentor, or advisor who knows you well and can speak to your academic strengths, research skills, or professional potential. The letter of recommendation is a valuable part of your application to our program. We encourage you to invite your recommender to share specific information on how you would be successful in an undergraduate research opportunity. Please request your letter of recommendation well in advance of the application deadline. Please ask your professor, research mentor, or advisor to upload their letter at our Letter of Recommendation Portal: https://www.bu.edu/photonics-programs/reu-lor/. Or they may email their letter to phoreu@bu.edu.
Application