University of Illinois tradition · Software engineering research

Summer Research in Software Engineering (SRSE) 2026

Join a worldwide cohort working with faculty affiliated with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign on projects in software engineering, testing, program analysis, AI for code, and related areas.

Primary deadline: April 15, 2026 — 23:59:59 AoE (Anywhere on Earth). We encourage you to apply by this date.

After April 15: We begin selection after the deadline, but the call stays open until positions are filled — qualified candidates may still be considered.

About the program

UIUC++ Summer Research in Software Engineering (SRSE) 2026 brings together students from around the world for mentored research led by professors listed below.

Collaborations are mostly remote and unpaid. In return, you gain rigorous research experience and support that can strengthen applications to PhD, master’s, and undergraduate programs.

If you cannot access the application form in your country, email shinhwei.tan@concordia.ca. Otherwise, please do not contact faculty individually — we review all applicants through the formal process.

Participating faculty

Projects are led by the following researchers (affiliations as listed for SRSE 2026).

Research topics

Themes include (and are not limited to) the following areas — see the application form for faculty-specific project descriptions.

  • Software engineering for AI
  • AI for software engineering
  • Software testing
  • Program analysis
  • Compilers
  • Program repair and synthesis
  • Probabilistic programming
  • Distributed systems
  • Operating system reliability
  • Runtime verification
  • Flaky tests

How to apply

Submit the official Google Form for SRSE 2026. Include your CV (with open-source contributions if any), background, and up to three faculty preferences as described in the form.

Applications without a working CV link are unlikely to be considered. A reference contact may be requested; recommendations are not guaranteed to be solicited for every applicant.

Ready to apply? Use the secure Google Form for this year’s cycle.

Open the SRSE 2026 application form

Encouraged deadline: April 15, 2026 (23:59:59 AoE). Selection begins after that date; the call remains open until positions are filled.

Where our students go

Undergraduates who have worked with participating groups have gone on to graduate programs at institutions including CMU, Columbia, Cornell, Cornell Tech, EPFL, ETH Zürich, Georgia Tech, GMU, MIT, NUS, Northeastern, Northwestern, Ohio State, Princeton, Purdue, Rutgers, Stanford, TUM, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Santa Cruz, UIUC, UMass Amherst, UPenn, UT Austin, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Waterloo, Yale, and others.

Examples of lab pages featuring former students:

UIUC++ SRSE vs. SSCDS summer research

UIUC++ SRSE is organized by current UIUC faculty and alumni in software engineering. It is not the same program as the general UIUC SSCDS Summer Research Program (SRP). If you are looking for the broader SSCDS opportunity, refer to the official SSCDS / SRP announcements separately.