Internships

Program Description

VFP provides 10-week summer hands-on research experiences at Fermilab for faculty and student teams from community colleges and four-year institutions historically underrepresented in the research community. Faculty applicants must submit a research project proposal co-developed with Fermilab staff. Faculty are able to invite eligible students to accompany them to the VFP Program.

This program, sponsored by the Department of Energy Office of Science, aims to provide faculty with a competitive edge when applying for federal research funding.

Further program information

Eligibility

• Must be 18 years or older at the time the appointment begins.
• U.S. citizen or permanent resident at the time of application
• Must have earned a high school diploma or General Educational Development (GED) equivalent at the time of applying (meet this requirement between the start date and due date of the application period.
• Must be currently enrolled as a full-time undergraduate student in an area of science, mathematics, engineering, or technology at the same university/college as the applying faculty member, and also have completed at least one year as a matriculating undergraduate student at the time of applying (additional undergraduate credits obtained prior to enrollment cannot be applied to meet the minimum one-year completion requirement)
• Applicants who will complete their undergraduate degree prior to starting their internship may apply as a “Graduating Senior”, if:
  • the applicant has not yet started a program of graduate study and will not matriculate as a graduate student prior to completing the VFP term, and
  • the time period between receipt of an undergraduate degree and starting the VFP term is less than one year.
  • Must have an undergraduate cumulative minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for all completed courses taken as a matriculated student at the applicant’s current (or recently-graduated) institution and at any undergraduate institutions attended as a matriculated postsecondary student during the 5 years preceding the start of the current enrollment. (This does not include college or university courses taken while solely a high school student.)

Application Procedure

• Required Fields of the Online Application System
• Undergraduate Transcripts (Submitted Online)
• Two Letters of Support

Internship Details

2026 Summer

• Application Period: TBD
  
• Program Date: June 1, 2026 – August 7, 2026
• Offer Period:  February 4 – April 15, 2026
• Acceptance Period:  February 4 – April 15, 2026
• Housing: Not provided. Local housing information available.
• VFP Student Salary: $650 per week for 40-hour work week
• Transportation: Paid round-trip airfare, or mileage reimbursement if permanent address is more than 50 miles from host laboratory. Travel by private automobile reimbursed at the current government rate up to $500.00 or the lowest commercial airfare, whichever is lower.
• Location: Onsite work schedule. Fully remote participation not available.

Deliverables

• Oral or Poster Presentation
• Research Project Report
• General Audience Abstract
• Peer Review
• Pre-Survey
• Post-Survey