KIPAC Post-baccalaureate Fellowship

The KIPAC post-baccalaureate fellowship is a 14-month paid research program in physics and astronomy. The program will provide a mentored research experience in astrophysics and cosmology with a research team at KIPAC, an institute hosted by Stanford University and SLAC National Laboratory. Program participants will receive additional career-advising and professional development to prepare them to succeed in a PhD graduate program in physics or astronomy.

KIPAC Postbac Flyer

Program Goals

Research experience is an important part of graduate school applications in physics and astronomy, yet access to these experiences is not equally available to all students. The goal of this post-baccalaureate fellowship is to increase access to graduate programs in physics and astronomy for recent college graduates who have not had extensive research opportunities at their undergraduate institutions, including for candidates from under-resourced backgrounds.

Program Timeline

Our first group of scholars started in 2023 with four scholars. Our next group of scholars is expected to start June 2025, and the program is intended to extend for 14 months for most participants. Participants should be willing to make a minimum one-year commitment to the program. Participants will be encouraged and supported to apply for Ph.D. programs in physics or astronomy in the fall after they start the program.

Key Program Features

Research training in KIPAC research groups/labs at Stanford or SLAC. See a list of research project examples here.
Mentorship from KIPAC faculty, scientists, postdocs, and graduate students.
Monthly salary and health insurance.
Scientific skills and professional development workshops.
Speaking, networking, and community-building opportunities.
Access to resources at Stanford and SLAC.
Research will be conducted on the Stanford campus and/or at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Participants will be expected to relocate to the area and find housing.

Eligibility

Candidates should have completed or expect to complete a bachelor’s degree in physics, astronomy, or a related field by the start of the program (June 2025 for the next group of scholars to be selected) and, in general, should not have previously been admitted to nor enrolled in a graduate program in these fields. Exceptions may be granted at the discretion of the selection committee. College graduates returning to academia after less than five years in the workforce or on personal leave are eligible and welcome to apply.
Candidates should have a demonstrated interest in pursuing graduate studies toward a Ph.D. in astronomy or physics.
Candidates should be eligible for employment in California. Eligible candidates include U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and DACA/AB240 students. International student applications will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Please see further details in the FAQ.
This program is committed to providing opportunities to students from under-resourced backgrounds. All eligible candidates are encouraged to apply.

Application & Deadline

The application for the 2025-2026 fellowship can be found here. Please apply by April 1, 2025 for full consideration*. We will consider late applications submitted by April 30 if space is available.

*Note: If you’re experiencing issues accessing Academic Jobs Online (AJO) to request your letters, please have your recommenders send them directly to kipac-postbac@stanford.edu.

Interested in the program? Join the KIPAC post-bac mailing list, and we will notify you of opportunities in the following years.

Program Contact & Questions