Undergraduate Program
A Unique University Research and Education Center for HEDP, Fusion, and High-Power Lasers
The LLE Undergraduate Education Program enables students to engage in mission-critical science and engineering.
The unique research, workforce, and career building opportunities the LLE has to offer undergraduates are well suited to provide training, while helping to fill the critical future workforce needs of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) at all levels, including operators, technicians, and scientists. Undergraduate students pursuing degree programs in related science and engineering fields (at U.S. colleges and universities) are welcome to apply.
For Fall Research Experiences – Deadline to Apply: July 31st
For Spring Research Experiences – Deadline to Apply: October 31 – Application is now closed.
For Summer Research Experiences – Deadline to Apply: February 15th
Apply Here
for Summer 2026
To qualify, you must be enrolled at an accredited U.S. college or university.
Please reach out for more information about Undergraduate Internships at LLE. All applications are considered for possible internship opportunities at the LLE. With limited mentors and projects available in any given term, we may or may not be able to reach back out to you directly. Please know we have received your initial application once you submit and look forward to considering you for possible upcoming internship opportunities.
For those interested in pursuing a future connection to the LLE through admission to Arts, Science, and Engineering degree programs at the University of Rochester, please visit University of Rochester’s Undergraduate Admissions.
An internship enables a student to be mentored and develop skills while producing work that benefits the institution. A research experience, on the other hand, enables a student to be mentored and develop skills while contributing to the research mission of institution, but the emphasis in a research experience is on the educational benefit the student receives.
The LLE Undergraduate Education Program offers undergraduates the unique opportunity to participate in a mentored research experience over the summer term.
- An individual research project
- Mentorship from full-time research scientists and engineers
- An opportunity to connect with peers with similar research interests
- Professional learning opportunities focused on the latest scientific advancements in fusion, high-energy-density science, laser technologies, and fundamental plasma physics
- Professional learning opportunities focused on career education and graduate school preparation
- Community building events with LLE staff, graduate students, fellow undergraduates, and high school students
- Opportunities to understand the national scientific and engineering ecosystem for potential long-term employment
- The opportunity to showcase your research project through a culminating conference-style poster session
- The opportunity to develop your identity as a researcher and collaborator
Applicants must be enrolled in an accredited US college or university and have completed relevant coursework in physics, optics, chemistry, engineering disciplines, mathematics, or computer science.
Applicants should also have a strong interest in fusion, high-energy-density science, laser technologies, and/or fundamental plasma physics.
All non-US citizens must be cleared for participation by the US Department of Energy.
Applicants must also commit to participating full time for the duration of the program.
Apply online! The link to the application can be found at Undergraduate Program – Laboratory for Laser Energetics.
The application period opens November 1, 2025 and closes on February 15, 2026.
The application requires the upload of the following documents in PDF format:
- Current CV or résumé
- Most recent unofficial transcript with grades
The application also requires you to explain briefly why you are interested in a research experience at LLE. In addition to explaining your motivation for applying to the program, you may wish to include information about relevant coursework, research, or experiences you have had; what special skills or perspectives you could contribute to a research experience; what you hope to gain from the experience; and/or any additional information you would like us to be aware of as we consider your application.
Accepted applicants will be notified by the end of March 2026.
The program follows the University of Rochester’s summer term. In 2025, the program ran from May 19 to August 1. The 2026 program dates will be announced in December 2025 and will cover a 10- or 11-week period from May through July 2026.
Yes, accepted students will receive a $7500 research stipend.
Yes, accepted students are offered free on-campus housing.
Yes, non-University of Rochester students who do not live in the Rochester area may request a travel reimbursement of up to $1000 for travel to Rochester, NY, and a travel reimbursement of up to $1000 for their departure from Rochester, NY, at the end of the program.