Application process updates
Hit "refresh" to see if there are any updates on our selection process. Each update is tagged with the date and listed below.
5/6/20: I apologize for the long silence. There has been a lot going on. At one point REU directors were talking about possibly sharing students across programs. Now we're settling into final decisions about going forward with full or partial programs. Each REU program is making their own decision based on their circumstances. For ours, we lost a few mentors but we were still able to offer 10-11 projects and are moving forward with those. We looked into Laird & Metz's pair-research model and are trying that with one project this year. At this time we do not anticipate having any additional positions. We thank everyone for their interest and wish everyone the very best in their career and graduate school decisions. This is the last year of our current, 5-year grant, so on top of everything else, we will be putting together a proposal this summer to seek funding for summer 2021 onward. If you applied to our program and would like to at least benefit from some online seminars and/or career talks, please let us know. A contact email can be found at the bottom of this page.
4/2/20: We will be sending out notifications soon to those who were not selected. We apologize for the delay. We have been busy figuring out how to work with the COVID-19 situation.
3/4/20: We will start making calls today but will not finish today. We hope to make all of our initial offers by tomorrow afternoon.
3/2/20: Our selection committee is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, March 4. We will make offers that afternoon. Those receiving an offer have until March 15 to decide whether to accept. This is per NSF's Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences Directorate (that is, any of the ones listed here: https://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/list_result.jsp?unitid=10020. Any REU funded by that Directorate should provide you until March 15 to accept/decline. FYI!
1/24/20: I just received word that NSF is raising the stipends for summer 2020 to $600/week. That will translate to $6,000 total stipend for our 10-week program.
Eligibility:
Applicants must be pursuing an undergraduate degree, graduating no sooner than December 2020*, and be U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents of the U.S.
*Students who are graduating from a 2-year degree program are eligible so long as they are moving to a 4-year degree program in the fall
Program details:
The 2020 program will run from May 26 - July 31*. Travel days are Monday, May 25, and Saturday, August 1.
- You receive a stipend: $6,000 (updated 1/24/20 to reflect a recent change at NSF). These funds are distributed at the end of May, June, July, in proporation to how many weeks of the program occurred in that month. These funds are considered a scholarship / fellowship and could be taxable, depending on your overall tax situation.
- You also receive some subsistence: $500. This helps with food costs in first month.
- Travel to/from Norman: up to $600.
- National Conference Travel:up to $1,500.
- We provide housing: in modern, furnished campus apartments, usually Traditions Square. In that complex each student has a private, locking bedroom in 4bed/2bath apartments. Additional options are available when needed. Costs for certain situations could fall to the participant, such as costs related to housing for family members, because that is outside the scope of our funding.
We are gathering the project descriptions: Project Proposals for 2020. We will update that page as we receive the rest of the project proposals.
*Students at schools on quarter systems will be accommodated.
The application period is over.
About the 2020 Application:
It has 4 parts, one of which is optional.
- the application (link below, but read all this before clicking on it!)
- two references, preferably from professors in your major (or related) classes, who know you well
- your college/university transcripts
- (optional) a current resume
Applications were due by 11:59pm CT, February 10, 2020. The application period is now over.
Items to prepare ahead of time:
- your essays
- calcluate your in-major GPA
- identify your references, ask them if they are willing to write for you, and have their name, title, and work email address handy
- Give them the following link so they can prepare their letters: http://www.caps.ou.edu/reu/application-references.html
- (optional) prepare/update your resume
We strongly recommend that you prepare to write the essay questions by:
- taking a look at our new video (above),
- looking over past year's projects to get an idea of the range of research projects and how much you'd learn over the summer (e.g., go to each past year and click on either "Students & Mentors" or "Projects": 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, etc.)
- note that NONE of the projects involve storm chasing,
- and click around through the web sites of our partner organizations, or, now that they're posted, the 2020 Project Descriptions to help you figure out what interests you the most.
- 1. What have you done to explore weather or climate outside the requirements of your major? [aim for about 150 words; form will limit you to 2,000 characters]
- These activities or actions could be from before you started college, or extra things you're doing while in college. This essay allows non-meteorology majors to show their interest in meteorology- or climate- or radar engineering-related fields, and allows meteorology/atmospheric science majors reveal ways in which their major is personally meaningful to them.
- 2. What careers are you currently considering? [aim for about 250 words; form will limit you to 2,000 characters]
- Please tell us about how your experiences in life so far have led you to the careers you are currently considering pursuing.
- 3. Why do you want to participate in a research internship? [aim for about 250 words; form will limit you to 2,000 characters]
- This should be a personal statement explaining why you would like to try doing research.
*Note: Our partner organizations list has been built over the past 20-some years. In any one year the list is shorter, based on individual scientists' ability to mentor in that year.
Reference letters will be requested directly from references and transcripts will be directly requested from applicants via email. These are due by February 14, 2020.
Things to keep in mind:
- NSF requests that REU sites select at least half of their participants from schools where research opportunities are limited, and that includes 2-year colleges.
- University, college, and community college students interested in a weather-related research career are encouraged to apply.
- Aspiring science teachers are encouraged to apply.
- Applications from women and minorities are particularly encouraged.
Also of note: NSF funds many REUs, and you can apply to more than one. To find other programs, select one of the disciplinary areas (we're listed under Atmospheric Science) or search with keywords here: https://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/reu_search.jsp.
You may also find this table helpful in finding sites that meet certain criteria including latest start date, whether they can accommodate various disabilities, whether they are aimed at certain stages of school, etc.: https://www.envsci.northwestern.edu/undergraduate/nsf-reu.html. Click on "View the Directory." Note that it is a community-driven compilation of information about REU sites.
Here are a few programs that you would probably be interested in if you're interested in ours:
- Due February 15, 2020: The University of Alabama - Huntsville, Remote Sensing of Land-Atmosphere Systems: https://www.uah.edu/essc/internships/reu
- Due February 10, 2020: William & Hobart Smith / Plymouth State University REU, Northeast Partnership for Atmospheric & Related Sciences (NEPARS): https://www.hws.edu/academics/nepars-reu/
- Due February 1, 2020: REU at Monterey Bay / California State University: https://csumb.edu/reu
- While nominally in ocean sciences, this REU has a few mentors at the Naval Postgraduate School, like Dr. Wendell Nuss, Dr. Tom Murphree and Dr. Haflidi Jonsson, who mentor students interested in atmospheric sciences. See: https://csumb.edu/reu/mentors-and-projects for more information on their research areas.
- Due February 14, 2020: The University of Utah, Research Experience in ALpine Meteorology (REALM): https://atmos.utah.edu/get_involved/reu/
You can find all the Atmospheric and Geospace Science REUs listed here.
Please check the FAQ before writing or calling!
Program Contact: Dr. Daphne LaDue, dzaras@ou.edu or 405-325-1898.All institutions of the National Weather Center and partner organizations are equal opportunity employers.