2026 Summer Undergraduate Fellowship Program
The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Summer Undergraduate Fellowship Program is a 10-week summer program designed to provide opportunities for undergraduate university students to gain experience in medical physics by performing research in a medical physics laboratory and shadowing at a clinical facility. Students are selected for the program on a competitive basis. Fellowship recipients will select a mentor with a clinical or research project based in a university, research facility, hospital or clinical facility in the U.S. or Canada. This fellowship includes a $6,000 stipend to assist with living expenses for the 10 weeks (May to September), assuming that the student and mentor have agreed upon expectations of the fellowship project itself. The dates are to be mutually suitable to the mentor and fellow. Selected undergraduate fellows may not participate in summer school or external courses, or be employed in any other manner during the 10-week program. Selected fellows have the opportunity to attend the 2026 AAPM Annual Meeting in Vancouver, Canada (complimentary registration and $500 towards travel expenses.)
More information about What is Medical Physics?
Sponsored by the AAPM Education & Research Fund, with acknowledgment to the Southwest Chapter for additional funding.
Student Eligibility
- Each student applicant shall have completed at least 2 years of their undergraduate studies, but shall not have graduated. Students who graduate prior to the fellowship start date (Spring 2026) are not eligible.
- Applicants shall have declared a major or be eligible to declare a major in physics, engineering, or other science. Applicants shall have completed a mathematics course in differential equations. Applicants shall have also completed at least one of the following courses in physics, or their equivalent in engineering sciences: modern physics, quantum mechanics, electricity and magnetism.
- Summer Undergraduate Fellowships are restricted to U.S. citizens, Canadian citizens and Permanent residents of the U.S.; DACA students are welcome to apply.
- Prior fellowship recipients not eligible.
To be submitted no later than 11:59 PM ET on February 9, 2026:
Personal Statement (approximately one page) describing your interest in the AAPM Summer Undergraduate Fellowship Program (SUFP). In your statement, be sure to:
Why are you interested in the field of medical physics?
Include any previous academic, professional, or extracurricular work as part of a team.
Include any previously demonstrated interests in medical physics or healthcare.
Include how the SUFP would be beneficial to your professional trajectory.
Explain how your intellectual, problem-solving, interpersonal, and intrapersonal strengths will contribute to a fellowship program.
Your personal statement should be uploaded as a PDF file and serves as a writing sample to evaluate communication.
Transcripts
An unofficial transcript is required at the time of application (a second transcript may be uploaded, if applicable).
Finalists will be required to submit an official transcript within two weeks of notification.
Curriculum Vitae (CV)
Use the required [CV template].
Upload your completed CV as a PDF file.
Letters of Recommendation
The recommendation letter requests may be submitted before your application is complete. We encourage you to finish this section as early as possible to give your recommenders ample time to respond.
You will need to provide the names and email addresses of your recommenders.
Once submitted, the system will automatically email your recommender with instructions. (Please advise them to check for an email from noreply@secure-platform.com, which may be directed to their spam/junk folder.)
You will be asked to confirm you have read these Fellowship Requirements.
► Student Application Deadline: February 9, 2026 (11:59 PM ET)
► Decision Notices Sent by: March 30, 2026
Mentor Eligibility
Each selected fellow will have a mentor employed by a university, a research facility, a hospital or clinical facility, or a radiological industry within the United States or Canada. Mentors must be a faculty medical physicist in a university environment, a person working in a medical physics related field or a qualified medical physicist. Each mentor must be a full member of AAPM. Attestation of Employer support and Indemnification is an application requirement. More information on Mentor Requirements and Guidelines.
In the application the mentor will specify a period of 10 weeks during the summer academic period (May to September) during which the mentor will be responsible for the supervision of the undergraduate student fellow.
Mentor Application Deadline: February 9, 2026
Deadline has passed
Program Contact: grantsandfellowships@aapm.org