Excellence in graduate research is one of the top priorities for the department. Recognizing the value of concentrated research activities uninterrupted by coursework and teaching, we consider summer research and internships an essential component of graduate education.
There are also numerous opportunities for you to grow both as a researcher & teacher and to prepare yourself for careers within or beyond the academic path.
Summer Research Assistants
During summer months, the majority of our graduate students are engaged as full-time research assistants with the funding coming from their advisors’ research grants. These engagements are made by mutual agreement between the advisor and the student. The advisor notifies their grant administrator, who in turn notifies the graduate program academic administrator by May 15.
Off Campus Research
Some students, especially those at the dissertation and pre-defense stage, spend their summers in an off-campus placement to pursue graduate thesis or dissertation research that cannot be accomplished on campus, or to pursue other academic career and professional development activities. These activities may be conducted at universities, at national laboratories, or other research facilities.
Internships
Students interested in non-academic careers are given an opportunity to spend their summer in off-campus non-academic internships. This activity is an integral component of the graduate training in accordance with the University policies on career and professional development.
In all cases of off-campus summer placement, agreements must be made between the student and the advisor to their mutual satisfaction; the graduate program must be notified by May 15. All efforts must be made to ensure that the student is funded in their off-campus setting at the level commensurate with or above that for on-campus students.
In cases of serious failures to meet the advisor’s research performance requirements or in cases of insufficient research funding, the graduate program should be notified as soon as possible but no later than May 1. In cases of insufficient funding, the student may be assigned a teaching position for the summer. However, this measure should be reserved for exceptional cases since only a couple of summer teaching positions are typically available. In cases of unsatisfactory student performance, mitigation measures may include moving the student to a different group or placing the student on academic probation.
Physics non-academic advising
Prof. Kevin Schlaufman is the Physics and Astronomy Department non-academic career advisor. The non-academic career advisor is a faculty member dedicated to the preparation of both undergraduate and graduate students for careers outside of academic physics and astronomy. The non-academic career advisor serves as a first faculty point-of-contact for students interested in exploring non-academic careers, searching for internships, or seeking full-time employment after graduation.
The advisor works closely with the Life Design Lab at Homewood (i.e., the career center), the JHU chapter of the Society of Physics Students (SPS), and the Physics and Astronomy Graduate Students (PAGS) association to organize physics and astronomy-specific career development activities. The advisor also serves a liaison between the department and its advisory council on issues related to non-academic career development.
Please contact the department’s non-academic career advisor to talk one-on-one about any of these programs or anything else related to non-academic career development.
Other Offices
- The Life Design Lab at Homewood (i.e., the career center) offer a comprehensive suite of career development resources for PhD students. Contact Bridget Purcell for additional information. This includes the Doctoral Life Design Studio, which offers a large number of career exploration and development opportunities. They even provide internships exclusively for JHU PhD students in the Baltimore-Washington area in intellectual property, science communication, and science policy.
- The Whiting School of Engineering’s Center for Leadership Education has a Professional Development Program offers an ensemble of career development modules each academic semester. You can register for these modules in SIS and they’re free of charge to currently enrolled PhD students.
- The JHU Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation offers a credential-bearing teaching academy program. The program leads to a certificate that can be listed on your CV that can establish to hiring committees that you’re serious about teaching effectively.