Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) runs two student programs each southern summer. The Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program is an NSF funded program, which selects six undergraduate physics/astronomy students from the United States of America and lasts 10 weeks. For the 2013 program, the approximate program dates will be January 21 - March 29. Travel to and from the student's home institution is provided. The Prácticas de Investigación en Astronomía (PIA) is a similar program conducted simultaneously for two Chilean by CTIO.
The REU program pays a reasonable stipend for the the 10 week duration of the program. For 2013, this works out to $580 per week. The PIA program also pays a similar stipend commensurate with Chilean living standards.
Unfortunately, the REU program only accepts undergraduates. However, in several instances, students have delayed graduation by a semester in order to participate in the program. For the PIA program, we can accept undergraduate students as well as first-year or second-year masters students who have not yet begun their masters thesis.
The CTIO REU/PIA program is hosted at the AURA recinto (compound) in La Serena, Chile. The program provides subsidized housing at casa #13 on the recinto. Generally, this means a private room, although due to space considerations, some students are asked to share. The rent is between $250 - $300 dollars per month depending on the U.S. Dollar/Chilean Peso exchange rate, the size of the room, and if the room is shared or single accomodation. REU students are expected to pay their rent each month in the CTIO Treasury Office using their REU stipend. PIA students are paid directly by CTIO, and thus their rent is paid for them and their stipend is adjusted accordingly.
In principle, yes, and credit has been awarded before. However, each university is different, so this question must be addressed on a case by case basis.
Unfortunately, the CTIO REU program cannot afford to provide medical insurance for its students. However, we STRONGLY encourage all students to have international coverage for the duration of the program. If you currently do not have any insurance coverage, we recommend imglobal.com [1] which offers low rates of $50 - $300 usd for decent coverage for the duration of the program, depending on the level of coverage selected. The PIA students (since their pay comes directly from CTIO) are provided temporary health insurance by CTIO during the program, and their stipend amounts are adjusted accordingly.
Not officially. However, if you have an interesting project in mind and there is funding available through a third party, we try to be accommodating.
While most of the students selected tend to be Juniors or Seniors, the selection committee is usually looking for a diverse mix of students, so we always advise anyone who is interested to apply. Generally, we accept students who have at least taken at least 1 semester of university-level astronomy. Students with less experience than this are less likely to be selected, but by applying you introduce yourself to the committee, which can be a positive thing for the next round of applications. Apply!
Absolutely! In fact, we would be disappointed if you didn't. Of course, you will be asked to pay any additional costs incurred because of your lengthened stay.
If you have any other questions that were not answered above, please do not hesitate to contact us at ctioreu
noao [dot] edu (subject: REU%2FPIA%20Program%20inquiry) (ctioreuATnoao.edu).
by Ryan Campbell (REU/PIA Student Coordinator 2009-2010), Updated by Catherine Kaleida (REU/PIA Student Coordinator 2012-2014)
Links:
[1] http://imglobal.com