The Undergraduate Lab at Berkeley, Physics & Astronomy Division is a DeCal that aims to make the transition into undergraduate research as seamless as possible. We believe that research should be accessible to all undergrads within the Physics and Astronomy Departments despite significant barriers to entry for students traditionally underrepresented in academia or without a strong research background.

Under the guidance of experienced undergraduate mentors and graduate/postdoc advisors, groups of mentees complete a year long research project on a topic of their interest. During this process, our staff will help mentees are able to make sense of the current literature, isolate a feasible project, and execute projects on a reasonable timescale. In addition, mentors serve as role-models to help demystify the research process.

Our program, extends beyond project work. Students attend weekly workshops on essential research skills such as programming, statistics, etc. At the end of our program, students will have gained basic research skills often desired by research labs and will have demonstrated these skills in the process of completing a project of their own from start-to-finish.

Contact us at physics@ulab.berkeley.edu with any questions or concerns!