Welcome to Beyond Boulder

Beyond Boulder is a resource for undergrads in fields related to physics and astronomy at CU Boulder. It is a program designed to help guide you through the process of thinking about and planning for your future career. During the academic year we meet on Thursdays at 5pm on the 11th floor of the Gamow Tower for useful workshops, seminars, questions and frank answers. The information presented herein should not be taken as absolute truth. Be sure to double check things on your own!

Beyond Boulder was started in Fall 2008 by Makenzie Lystrup with support from a National Science Foundation Astronomy & Astrophysics Postdoctoral Research Fellowship. She ran the program through Spring 2011. The program is currently administered by Emily Levesque.

Next Beyond Boulder session

Beyond Boulder will resume in late September 2012.

We need your feedback!

We design, update, and support the Beyond Boulder program based on student feedback and input. Please take a few minutes to complete a short anonymous survey on your experience with Beyond Boulder during the past academic year.

Events and news 

Careers in Outreach/Policy

For more information on how to volunteer at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and learn more about science outreach and public education work, visit their Volunteering website.

I'd also encourage anyone interested in pursuing a policy career to check out CU's Center for Science and Technology Policy Research!

Careers in Industry presentation

Download a copy of Dennis Ebbets' longer presentation on career opportunities in industry here: CASA post docs Ebbets seminar fall 2011.pdf

NSF REU Program Links

If you'd like to learn more about the NSF's REU programs, visit their list of sites for Physics and Astronomy programs. Go to any specific site website for more information on their research opportunities and application process!

In addition, the PDF handout from our last session summarizing the 2012 REU program here in Boulder can be found here: REU_Boulder_2012.pdf

Spring 2012 Beyond Boulder Schedule

The Spring 2012 program is now available! Sessions are held on Thursdays at 5PM, and will feature advice, discussions, and Q&A sessions meant to help you start preparing for the many varied and exciting ways you can use your Physics and Astronomy education.

If you have questions about the schedule, or any other details of the Beyond Boulder program, email me at Emily[dot]Levesque[at]colorado[dot]edu.

January 19th: Semester Introduction and REU application workshop, Part I

January 26th: REU application workshop, Part II

THE CAREER SESSIONS:

  February 2nd: Careers in Academia

  February 9th: Careers in Research

  February 16th: Careers in Industry

  February 23rd: Careers in Teaching

  March 1st: Careers in Media/Comunication

  March 8th: Careers in Outreach/Policy

  March 15th: Careers  in Finance/Law/Consulting

March 22nd: Resumes & CVs

 April 5th: Choosing Graduate Schools

April 12th: Women in Physics and Astronomy

April 19th: The General and Physics GRE

April 26th: Semester Wrap-up

The CU Writing Center

For any students who would like assistance with their grad school/research program/fellowship/scholarship applications, job cover letters, or any other written material, consider making an appointment at CU's Writing Center. It's a great resource and gives you a chance to get feedback, writing tips, and an extra (professional!) pair of eyes looking over your work!

Fall 2011 Presentation Downloads

We'll be uploading PDF copies of some of the more popular Beyond Boulder presentations this fall. Watch this space to download a copy of a presentation that you found particularly interesting!

Application Workshop Part 1: presentation with tips for writing your statement of purpose: StatementOfPurposePres2011.pdf

Graduate Admissions Panel: again, no presentations this week, but Prof. Mike Shull had a valuable handout listing recommended classes for students who might be interested in going to physics or astronomy grad school and are wondering what to take: coursework_recommendations.pdf

Undergraduate Teaching Opportunities: no presentation this week, but check out the Learning Assistant program website for undergrad teaching opportunities here at CU and the Beyond Boulder page on research/teaching for other volunteering and teaching opportunities.

Undergraduate Research Opportunities:BB_research.pdf (presentation) and BB_research_handout.pdf (handout with links)

  -- also check out the Beyond Boulder pages on research and scholarship/fellowship opportunities!

Careers in Astronomy and Astrophysics: BB_AstroCareers.pdf and Careers_Fall_2011.ppt.pdf

Fall 2011 Beyond Boulder Schedule

The Fall 2011 program is up! Sessions are held on Thursdays at 5PM, and will typically feature advice, discussions, and Q&A sessions meant to help you start preparing for the many varied and exciting ways you can use your Physics and Astronomy education.

If you have questions about the schedule, or any other details of the Beyond Boulder program, email me at Emily[dot]Levesque[at]colorado[dot]edu.

October 13: Welcome to Beyond Boulder

October 20: Careers in Physics and Astronomy

October 27: Undergraduate Research Opportunities

November 3: Undergraduate Teaching Opportunities

November 10: Graduate Admissions Panel

November 17: Application Workshop, Part 1

December 1: Application Workshop, Part 2

December 8: End-of-semester wrap-up and preview of Spring 2012!

Disclaimer: The material on this website is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under the AAPF program. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the fellow and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.