Cal-Bridge Summer Research Program (CAMPARE)
California State Polytechnic University Pomona
Cal-Bridge

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Your information should be reviewed by Tuesday, March 1

General Info

The Cal-Bridge Summer program is a network of California State Universities and California Community Colleges from which students are recruited to participate in undergraduate research projects for 8-10 weeks in the summer. Selected students get to participate in cutting-edge research in astronomy, physics, planetary and space science, or astrobiology, at one of our 15 world-class partner research institutions. Students are paid a stipend and their travel and housing expenses are covered.

Within Cal-Bridge Summer, there is the Cal-Bridge-HERA Astronomy Minority Partnership (CHAMP) program, which provides selected students the opportunity to study cosmology and radio astronomy. CHAMP is a one-week radio astronomy “boot camp” designed to give students skills they will need to succeed in their research. Students get to work at one of 6 universities partnering on the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA) project, a new state-of-the-art radio telescope being built in South Africa. Following the one-week “boot camp” students will then work for the next 9 weeks with faculty and staff at one of the CHAMP sites on HERA-related projects.

Selected Cal-Bridge Summer/CHAMP students will receive a $5000 stipend for the full 10 weeks. In addition, participants will be provided with housing and will be reimbursed for travel from home or campus to their research site. Successful applicants are notified in March.

To learn more about the research opportunities offered by the Cal-Bridge Summer and CHAMP programs, talk to the listed faculty contact at your school:


Department Homepage

Program Highlights

  • With close guidance and mentorship from an expert at a world-class institution, conduct cutting-edge research in astronomy, physics, planetary and space science, or astrobiology.
  • Participation in the annual Cal-Bridge Summer Mentoring Dinner to meet and get pointers from other summer research students past and current.
  • Opportunity to live and work in a new city for the summer and enjoy the cultural and social experiences that come with the opportunity.
  • Participation in the annual Cal-Bridge Summer Research Symposium at the end of the summer by presenting your summer research to your peers, family, mentors, program staff and faculty.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for Cal-Bridge Summer, an applicant must be:
  • At least 18 years of age by the beginning of the program.
  • To be eligible for the program, applicants must have completed at least one full year of college-level physics by the summer of the program.
  • Applicants must be enrolled in one of the Cal-Bridge Summer participating institutions at the time of their application.
  • For most summer research sites, participants should not have graduated from their 4-year institution before the beginning of the summer internship. However, there are some exceptions, so if you are graduating before next Spring, check each Research Opportunity page to confirm which you are eligible for.
  • Community college students in the process of transferring to a 4-year institution are eligible to apply.

Application Information

  • Please fill out the application questions with your name and contact information (address/cell phone/preferred email)
  • Contact information of two (2) faculty members who will provide recommendation letters.
  • Academic information (major, overall GPA, etc.)
  • Undergraduate transcripts (unofficial transcripts accepted)
  • Personal Statement (500 words)
  • The two (2) faculty members providing letters for you must upload their letters themselves. Important note: the system automatically sends an email to your recommenders, and this email may automatically filter into their junk mail folder. Please follow up with your recommenders to make sure they have received the email from us to submit their letters.
  • Please do not upload password-protected documents
Contact the Cal-Bridge Summer program at calbridge@cpp.edu with any questions you might have.

Acknowledgment Of Funding Sources

NSF