The Quantum and Nanotechnology Internship MS in Physics focuses on building experimental skills needed for the rapidly growing quantum industry and its adjacent Nanotechnology industries (MEMS/NEMS, Integrated Photonics, Microwave Devices).
We believe graduate education should equip you with the skills that allow you to excel in your career: technical expertise, hands-on experience and professional skills (including communication, leadership, and teamwork). Students gain these skills through focused coursework and labs, integrated professional development, and a nine-month paid internship.
Unlike traditional master’s programs, students spend the majority of their time gaining hands-on expertise working with:
• Nanofabrication (photolithography, deposition, etching, characterization and factorial design of experiments)
• Microwave measurement equipment
• Dilution cryostat cryogenics and benchmarking superconducting qubits
• Free-space laser and atomic physics setups
• Lab-integrated data science, factorial experiments, and Python scripting (instrumentation control and data analysis)
After students complete the campus portion of the curriculum in the first two quarters, the students are placed in either paid internships with industry partners, paired with a faculty member where they get involved in a research project or work on a project sponsored by an external partner. This allows students to graduate with minimal or no debt as paid salary during the internship quarters will offset the tuition cost. After the completion of the program the students graduate with M.S. degree in Physics.
Background:
The University of Oregon pioneered the development of internship-based MS programs starting in 1998. The goal of these programs is to provide real-world knowledge, skills, and experience that allows students to excel in launching their professional career working in industrial research laboratories. Other existing internship-based MS programs include those housed in the Knight Campus (semiconductors, optics, polymers, bioinformatics and sensors), the Center for Advanced Materials Characterization in Oregon (advanced materials characterization and analysis), the Oregon Center for Electrochemistry (electrochemistry). All these programs have exceptionally high rates of internship and job placement (> 98%).
Schedule:
| Fall quarter 1 | Winter quarter | Spring quarter | Summer quarter | Fall quarter 2 |
Physics Behind Quantum Computing
(4 credits) | Cryogenic Quantum Lab
(4 credits) | Internship (10 credits)
| Internship (10 credits)
| Internship (10 credits)
|
Nanofabrication
(4 credits) | Optical Quantum Lab
(4 credits) | | | |
RF Equipment and Qubit Meas.
(4 credits) | Quantum Forge Projects
(4 credits) | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
How to apply:
Detailed description how to apply can be found at our Application page. Priority / early decision deadline is February 15th, however, we will accept and review applications on rolling basis through June 2025 until the spots in the program are filled. Interested applicants should not hesitate to email the program director Prof. Nik Zhelev at nzhelev@uoregon.edu to discuss application process and further details about the program.
Tuition cost:
Tuition cost for 2025 – 2026 is expected to be $630 per credit hour. There is no difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition. The program consists of total of 54 credit hours with a total tuition cost of $34,020. University of Oregon also charges about $3,500 in student fees / health insurance costs. Typical external internship compensation for three terms is expected to range between $30,000 and $70,000, with the expectation that they will fully offset the tuition cost*.
* Internship placements are not guaranteed. Students will be provided mentoring and professional guidance in their job/internship search as well as in negotiating their compensation. The internship/job compensation is negotiated directly between student and company. To date, however, the internship placement in our sister programs that use the same model (Knight Campus Graduate Internship Program and Electrochemistry MS Internship Program) rate is >98% with most students receiving multiple internship/job offers.
Please consult https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/loans for information regarding federal student loans and http://financialaid.uoregon.edu or 541-346-3221 for information about conventional financial aid.
Housing:
The Eugene-Springfield area offers generally affordable housing compared to other West-Coast cities with good public transit and protected bike paths running throughout the city. However, the timeline of the accelerated timeline of the MS internship program makes finding housing more difficult than for traditional programs. Many companies catering to students require a one year lease period, although students have been in the past able to sign shorter leases or obtain month-to-month rentals. Usually rental companies are more likely to agree to a month-to-month rental close to the start of the school year after they have secured 12 month leases for as many of their units as they can.
Once you are accepted to the program, we will provide a housing contact list where you can connect with other accepted students to work together to find housing options. The University of Oregon has Graduate Student and Family Housing and also provides a web service to help students find off campus housing.
Course Descriptions:
- Physics Behind Quantum Computers (Fall): The course will introduce students to quantum computing theory, quantum algorithms and some of the physical implementations of quantum computing. The students will get hands on experience with programing on a real IBM quantum computer using Qiskit through qBraid. The course will be typically taught by Prof. Steven Van Enk.
- Nanofabrication (Fall): This primarily laboratory class will introduce students to photolithography and factorial analysis and design of experiments. Students will also get experience with physical vapor deposition (sputtering and evaporation), reactive ion-etching and characterization (profilometry, SEM and AFM). The students will go through the process of fabricating a microwave resonator. The course will be typically taught by Prof. Benjamín Alemán.
- RF Equipment & Qubit Measurements (Fall): This class will introduce fundamental concepts regarding microwave propagation, microwave devices and microwave test equipment (oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzer and vector network analyzer). Students will get hands on experience with mixers, AM radio receivers, spectrum analyzers and vector network analyzers and amplifiers. Students will have the chance to practice soldering and component assembly as well as microwave measurements testing on a dilution cryostat. The course will be typically taught by Prof. Nik Zhelev.
- Cryogenic Quantum Lab (Winter): This lab class will introduce students to cryogenic techniques and dilution cryostat operation. The students will have the chance to operate a dilution cryostat and perform measurements of superconducting qubit T1, T2 (Ramsey and echo), Tphi. Students will go through every part of the measurement and control chain and through series of experiments get an in-depth understanding about the choices and limitations in design and implementation of qubit control and readout hardware as well as get introduced to qubit design tools. The course will be typically taught by Prof. Nik Zhelev.
- Optical Quantum Lab (Winter): Students will start from an empty optical table and during the length of the course build a NV-centers in diamonds measurement setup. The course will be taught in Winter 2025 by Prof. Hailin Wang.
- Quantum Forge Projects (Winter): Students work on projects sponsored by industry sponsors. At the end of the term we hold a symposium on campus bringing industry sponsors and students together, with students presenting the outcomes of their projects and industry presenting keynote talks.
What are Quantum Technologies?
The skills gained in this program could also help students land jobs in other technical fields, such as semiconductor device fabrication, optical technologies and microwave device electronics.
One prominent example of a growing quantum technology is quantum computing. Quantum computing exploits the principles of quantum mechanics to process information. At its core are quantum bits, or qubits, which, unlike classical bits, can exist in multiple states simultaneously due to superposition. The inherent parallelism of quantum computers offers the potential to solve problems that are currently intractable for classical computers. Quantum entanglement, where qubits become correlated and the state of one qubit is dependent on the state of another, further enhances computational capabilities. Quantum computing holds the promise of transformative breakthroughs in fields such as cryptography, optimization, and materials science.
Quantum computing implements qubits using various physical platforms, including superconducting circuits, laser-trapped ions, laser-cooled atoms, and quantum dots controlling the spins of dopants. In superconducting circuits, qubits are created using Josephson junctions etched on a chip. In ion trap quantum computers, individual ions are trapped and manipulated using precisely controlled lasers. Laser-cooled atoms, on the other hand, serve as qubits when their internal states are manipulated with lasers. Quantum dots, nanoscale semiconductor structures, can control the spins of dopant electrons, acting as qubits. These diverse approaches highlight the versatility of quantum computing technologies, each with its own set of challenges and advantages. The choice of the physical platform depends on factors such as scalability, error rates, and the feasibility of maintaining quantum coherence in practical implementations.
In 2022, $2.35 billion private capital was invested in quantum technology start-ups, which include companies in quantum computing, communications, and sensing (source: McKinsey and Co.). Non-exhaustive list of companies involved in quantum computing, quantum communication or quantum sensing can be found here. In addition, government programs around the world are also investing heavily in quantum information science research. Through the National Quantum Initiative Act passed in 2018 the US federal government has since provided $2.6 billion dollars for the establishment of 14 Quantum Initiative Research Centers (typically anchored at a US National Lab as a primary host institution) and for academic research grants.
A non-exhaustive list of the quantum technology jobs available at the moment can be found here. Our program aims to provide path to the jobs in the quantum industry aside from the traditional path of obtaining a PhD first.
