Program Summary

The URA–Fermilab Undergraduate Women in STEM Internship Program was a joint initiative of Universities Research Association (URA) and Fermilab, designed to expand opportunities for undergraduate women pursuing careers in STEM and aligned with Fermilab’s scientific mission and research portfolio.

During the summers of 2023 and 2024, participants conducted hands-on research at Fermilab alongside scientists, engineers, and technical staff, contributing to projects in particle physics, accelerator and detector technologies, computational science, quantum science, and other mission-critical research areas. The program combined immersive research experiences with mentoring, professional development, networking, leadership training, and exposure to science policy to support participants’ academic and career growth.

Midway through the internship, participants traveled to Washington, DC, for a two-day science policy seminar, where they engaged with leaders from the U.S. Department of Energy, Congress, White House Office of Science and Technology Office, and the broader research community to gain insight into the policies, partnerships, and federal investments that enable research at the nation’s national laboratories.

Through this experience, the program helped cultivate the next generation of women STEM leaders while advancing URA’s commitment to strengthening and diversifying the future scientific workforce.

Fermilab

Fermilab is the U.S. Department of Energy’s national laboratory for particle physics and accelerator research located on a 6,800-acre prairie, 35 miles outside Chicago. Fermilab performs scientific research in Illinois and at locations around the world, including deep underground mines in South Dakota and Canada, mountaintops in Arizona and Chile, and the South Pole.

Fermilab is composed of engineers, scientists, technicians, and administrative professionals who are strategic risk takers, innovators, and collaborators. About 1,800 employees work together towards advancing knowledge for the benefit of humankind. Fermilab has been at the forefront of particle physics for more than 40 years building world-leading accelerators and detectors to conduct some of the most advanced particle physics experiments possible. Fermilab collects and analyze the data from those experiments with some of the most powerful computers in the world.