F.A.Q

The APS Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP) are three-day regional conferences for undergraduate physics majors. The 2019 conferences will be held:
 January 17th -19th, 2020. 

The primary goal of the CUWiP conferences is to help undergraduate women continue in physics by providing them with the opportunity to experience a professional conference, information about graduate school and professions in physics, and access to other women in physics of all ages with whom they can share experiences, advice, and ideas.

The 2020 program co-hosted between the University of Maryland (UMD) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology  (NIST) will include research talks, panel discussions about graduate school and careers in physics, workshops and discussions about women in physics, student research poster session, and laboratory tours at both NIST and UMD.

Any undergraduate student with an interest in physics may apply to attend a CUWiP.  Undergraduate students are eligible to apply and register for the conference, and we encourage non-undergraduate students or interested faculty/mentors to email [email protected] for details about attendance and participation.

Most people say "Cue-Wip".

Any undergraduate student attending a US college/university may apply. High school students are not permitted to apply. For more information, see our application page.

It is very important to complete all parts of the application and to write a thoughtful Applicant Statement. If conferences are oversubscribed, priority will be given to applicants who:

1. Are undergraduate physics or engineering physics majors
2. Have never attended an APS CUWiP before

 
There is no formal application or registration process for non-undergraduate students and interested faculty/mentors. We encourage you to email [email protected] for details about attendance and participation. 

You apply to attend CUWiP, the CUWiP leadership directs you to a site, the site reviews your application and you are accepted, wait-listed or declined according to the priorities listed above. Application is free, and the deadline is Friday, October 4th, 2019 at midnight ET.
 
After you have been accepted, you will register  for your accepted site  to confirm that you will actually be attending, and provide specifics, such as special accommodations and dietary restrictions. There is a one-time registration fee of $45, which helps offset some of the cost of the conference. The conference provides all lodging and meals.  If necessary, the registration fee can be waived. To request a fee waiver, please contact [email protected].

As CUWiP is so popular, we need to carefully balance the loads across the sites to minimize travel costs and maximize the number of students who can attend CUWiP.  We will aim to follow the distribution described by the APS CUWiP map, but we many need to deviate from that, so please do not book travel until you receive an acceptance email from, and complete registration for, a specific site.

No, but you should have an estimate of the cost. If you are traveling by air, or long distance train or bus, and your travel cost is not covered by your department, your travel agenda and cost must be approved by the conference site organizers before you book your travel. Email us at [email protected] for approval.  Due to the limited nature of our travel funds, we ask that you find the most economical means of transportation to and from the conference. For example, reach out to others in your department and see if carpooling is an option.

First, make sure you submit your application by the deadline, Friday, October 4, 2019.
 
Second, make sure you put some thought into why you want to attend and what you want to get out of the conference. Please answer all questions on the application fully and honestly. Offering to present a talk or a poster, or indicating interest in travel support, will not affect your chances of being selected to attend.

Students who are accepted to attend the conference must pay a one-time registration fee of $45, which helps offset some of the cost of the conference, including all lodging and meals.  If you cannot afford the registration fee and your department/college is unable to help, you may request a fee waiver by submitting a statement attesting to your financial need and verifying that department or university funds are not available.  Further details will be provided when you are invited to register for the conference. You must request a fee waiver at least seven days before the registration deadline.

Lodging (for non-local students) and food will be covered by the conference; you do not need to pay for your hotel room or food at the conference.  We expect that your travel expenses will be covered by your home department or college. However, if they are not able to cover these expenses, limited travel funding is available. Please contact the conference organizers at [email protected].

Please talk to your department chair, manager, or director of undergraduate studies before registering for CUWiP. You might ask an academic advisor, faculty member you know, or other mentor for guidance about who to ask if you are unsure.  You can also contact us if you would like guidance in asking your department for travel funds.

No. While we encourage you to present a talk or a poster if you have been involved in research, you are welcome to attend the conference and participate in the activities.

The content of this year’s conference will not be exactly the same as last year’s, and you are welcome to apply to attend again. However, if more students apply than we can accommodate, preference will be given to students who have never attended a CUWiP.

Yes, all attendees must register by the deadline.

All undergraduate students must apply to attend CUWiP through the APS website, and will be assigned to a site based on the location of their home institution. This conference is not intended to be a graduate school visit.

Yes, undergraduate students at any U.S. college or university may apply.

Yes, students of all genders are welcome to attend this conference. If you have questions, or concerns about the housing for this conference, please contact us at [email protected]

Students from Canada are encouraged to apply to the Canadian site at the University of Toronto. Students from Canada may apply to U.S. CUWiP if desired. However, Canadian students accepted to U.S. sites are not eligible for reimbursement of travel expenses from the conference or for waiver of the registration fee.

As APS CUWiP is funded by US federal funding agencies, APS is only able to fund students attending universities in the U.S. If you do not attend university in the US, we are not able to accept your application via the APS application system. We welcome students attending non-U.S. institutions to email our site at [email protected] or another CUWiP site to request to attend. CUWiP sites will not be able to reimburse students attending non-U.S. institutions for accommodations or travel. 

Only undergraduate students who will be over 18 at the time of the conference may apply to CUWiP.  

Students are responsible for arranging their own travel to the conference.  We encourage students to coordinate with other attendees from their institution.  Please l contact your department chair or faculty member if your department is reimbursing you for travel costs.  If your department cannot fund your travel, please communicate with the local organizing committee through [email protected] for plane and train ticket approval before purchase.

Because your travel costs are reimbursable, it is expected that you will attend all of the conference events as scheduled. If you have special circumstances, please contact us to discuss them.

Students will be accommodated at a local hotel. Please visit our Travel and Accommodations page for hotel and parking information. Do not make your own hotel reservation. All registered students will be in a double queen room and will have a roommate. Once you have been accepted to the conference, you will need to register for attendance. On the registration form, there will be a section to denote your roommate preferences.

If you are being reimbursed by the conference (rather than by your department): after the conference, you can submit the reimbursement form that will be provided to you. Reimbursement will be mailed to you within the month. For more details please contact us.

We will request dietary restriction information on the registration form. If you believe your dietary needs are unusual, please contact us and we will work to accommodate you.

The conference has no dress code, and we encourage students to be comfortable. There will be a formal dinner on Saturday evening, and many students enjoy dressing up for this event.  You may wish to look at photos of previous conferences to see what students typically wear. As students will walk from the hotel to the conference center, consider comfortable walking shoes and bring a coat appropriate for winters in Washington DC.

We will request information on disability status on the registration form.  Please contact us  at [email protected] in advance if you have unusual requirements, and we will work to accommodate you.  

Please contact us at [email protected] if you are comfortable so we are aware. We will encourage you to try your best during the networking opportunities, but if you need to be paired up with someone you know (either in rooming or meals), please let us know so we can try to accommodate you. We hope that you will be able to comfortably attend the conference and get something from it, but we understand that everyone needs to go at their own pace.

The pronoun that a person chooses to use for themselves. For example: If Xena's preferred pronouns are she, her, and hers, you could say "Xena ate her food because she was hungry." She, her, hers and he, him, his are common examples of pronouns. Some people call these "female/feminine" and "male/masculine" pronouns, but many avoid these labels because, for example, not everyone who uses he feels like a "male" or "masculine."

There are also lots of gender-neutral pronouns in use. Here are a few you might hear:
- They, them, theirs (Xena ate their food because they were hungry.) This is a pretty common gender-neutral pronoun.... And yes, it can in fact be used in the singular.
- Ze, hir (Xena ate hir food because ze was hungry.)
Ze is pronounced like "zee" can also be spelled zie or xe, and replaces she/he/they. Hir is pronounced like "here" and replaces her/hers/him/his/they/theirs.
- Just my name please! (Xena ate Xena's food because Xena was hungry) Some people prefer not to use pronouns at all, using their name as a pronoun instead.
- Never, ever refer to a person as “it” or “he-she” (unless they specifically ask you to.) These are often used as offensive slurs.

Based on the information here and resources linked therein

CUWiP seeks to be a safe space for all participants.  By asking for preferred pronouns, we are ensuring that we don’t accidentally misgender any of our participants or make harmful assumptions based off of appearance. Even if you have never considered this in relation to yourself, by including your preferred pronouns on your name badge you can help to make other CUWiP participants comfortable. We hope you will consider this.

Yes!  We will be setting up a Facebook page soon!

Please contact us to discuss your needs at [email protected].