U.S. Particle Accelerator School
Program Information:
USPAS Session in New Orleans, Louisiana
January 26 - February 6, 2026
Classes, sleeping rooms, the Study Room, as well as breakfast & dinners will all be held at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel (Two Poydras Street, New Orleans, LA 70130).
Classes end on Friday January 30 or Friday February 6 at 12:00 (noon).
Registration Fee
For students who are not receiving a scholarship, the Registration Fee is $2,000.00 if your Application Form is received before October 1; after October 1 the fee increases to $2,500.00. The Registration Fee is prorated to $1,000.00 for students attending only one one-week class. Please note: you do not have to pay the Registration Fee by October 1, you must send in an Application Form before October 1.
Scholarships
To be considered for any of our scholarships you must submit four documents: an application form; a cover letter explaining why the USPAS is important to your career and describing prior research experience, work with or as a user of particle accelerators; your CV; at least one letter of recommendation. Students receiving any scholarship are expected to fully participate in all aspects of the course and must take their course for credit or for a grade. Students receiving housing support must share their hotel room with another student. Scholarships are open to both domestic and international students. Consideration will be given to balancing class sizes. Multiple awards are possible.
Note: International students requesting a scholarship who are not from U.S. visa-waiver countries must already be in possession of a visa that is valid for the entire period of the USPAS session.
APS Division of Physics of Beams Travel Scholarship
The Division of Physics of Beams (DPB) of the American Physical Society is once again offering a limited number of travel scholarships to USPAS students. Applicants must be members of the DPB (if you are not already a member you must join before requesting the award; student membership is free for the first year). The DPB scholarship will cover travel expenses up to $750.00 and a USPAS scholarship will cover housing and your registration fee. These scholarships are open to domestic and international students who meet the usual USPAS scholarship requirements (required documents listed above). You can enroll for DPB membership here https://www.aps.org/membership/ and more details on eligibility and the selection criteria can be found at DPB Scholarship Details. You must be a member of the APS DPB unit before requesting their travel scholarship.
Auditing Your Course
If you are auditing your course(s), you will not enroll at Michigan State University and will not earn a grade. You are not required to complete homework assignments nor take any exams. Domestic and international attendees who audit their course will be asked to complete a USPAS Audit Form.
Taking your Course for Credit or for a Grade
If you are taking your course(s) for host university credit, you will enroll for the course(s) through the USPAS and must fully participate in class. This means attending all lectures, completing all homework assignments and taking all exams. Because our courses are co-listed, Indiana University and MIT students may directly earn home university credit for their USPAS course. It's possible that other universities will directly award credit for a USPAS course, please contact your university to find out if that arrangement exists. Students enrolled for credit and/or a grade are expected to complete all homework, take all exams and participate fully in class. If you successfully pass a two-week class (or 2 one-week classes) you will earn 3 credits from our host university. Students may take one one-week half course to be eligible for 1.5 MSU credits. Students who take two one-week half courses are eligible for 3 MSU credits. Students enrolled for credit will be asked to complete an Enrollment Form.
Some non-scholarship students may wish to have their performance graded but do not want or need university credit. A mechanism exists for this, please contact the USPAS for information.
Academic Status at Michigan State University
Students must make final confirmation of their choice to take their course for credit or audit on or before Tuesday, January 27, 2026. Official transcripts will be maintained by Michigan State University. Students receiving financial support from the USPAS or the DPB must enroll for university credit or a grade. Foreign nationals receiving financial support from the USPAS may not enroll for credit, but they must participate fully in all aspects of their session and have their performance rated. No scholarship student, whether domestic or international can audit their class.
International Participants
This USPAS program is open to participation by both domestic and international attendees. The program is an intense learning experience sponsored by Michigan State University from January 26 - February 6, 2026 only. Because this program is not a course of full-time study, an F visa (student visa) is not appropriate. You should check with your embassy to be sure, but we believe a B visa (visitor/business visa) or Visa Waiver is appropriate as it would be for any conference or workshop. International participants not currently residing in the U.S. may attend the program and may request financial sponsorship, but they may not earn university credit. International participants receiving financial support from the USPAS must participate fully in all aspects of their session and will receive a letter confirming their attendance and rating their performance. Failure to turn in assignments or take exams could jeopardize financial support awarded by the USPAS. International scholarship students may not audit their class.
Note: International students requesting a scholarship who are not from U.S. visa-waiver countries must already be in possession of a visa that is valid for the entire period of the USPAS session.
You will be asked to complete an International Participant Registration Form.
USPAS Registration and Course Check-In
Registration will be held on Sunday January 25, 2026 from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel (Two Poydras Street, New Orleans, LA 70130) An extended dinner will available from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The USPAS Director will give a welcome talk at 7:00 p.m.
If you do not register with the USPAS on Sunday night, you must register on Monday morning, January 26 before class starts at 9 a.m. If you arrive after registration hours Sunday night, please check the hotel signage to find in which room breakfast is held. If you are scheduled to arrive for classes the second week only (February 2 - 6), information will be provided so that you know when and where meals will be served, where the USPAS Office at the hotel is located, and to remind you to Register with the USPAS staff Monday morning before class starts. The USPAS Office will be open weekdays beginning Monday, January 26, during normal business hours.
You can reach us at cell number 312-505-8797 should you have questions.
Housing
A group block of hotel rooms has been reserved for USPAS participants at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel. To receive our discounted rate and negotiated perks, you must book your room through the link we send in your acceptance packet. Hotel rooms are available at the FY2026 U.S. federal government hotel per diem rate. PLEASE NOTE: in New Orleans, the government rate for January is lower than February and this school has one week in January and one week in February. This means you will have one hotel room rate your first week and a different (higher) rate your second week. A single room is available for $157.00/$179.00 + 15% tax + 1.75% tourism support assessment and a $3.00 occupancy fee per room per night. A double room (shared by 2 people) is $78.50/$89.50 +15% tax + 1.75% tourism support assessment and a $1.50 occupancy fee per person per night. A very limited number of rooms can be reserved at our rate 2 days before and 2 days after the School dates based on availability at the hotel. We do not control the availability or room rate outside the official school dates and those extra dates are confirmed by the hotel separately (and later) from our school dates.
Please confirm your departure date when you check-in to the hotel as they will charge an Early Departure Fee (equal to one night of housing) if you change your departure date after check-in.
As is true with any hotel, this hotel may impose access and service charges in addition to time charges for phone calls (even for credit card or 800-number calls) so it is wise to confirm applicable charges from your sleeping room before using the telephone in your room.
Sleeping rooms reserved via the link we email to you are entitled to the following perks we have negotiated for our group: free sleeping room wifi, free use of the hotel self-service laundry machines, free access to the health center, waived Daily Destination Fee and reduced parking (reduced to $30/day).
Hotel check-in time is 4:00 pm and check-out time is 11:00 am.
All USPAS participants should make their hotel room reservation through a link we will send in your acceptance email. All reservations require a one-night deposit via credit card to hold your room. This is just a deposit, no charge will be made to your credit card unless you fail to cancel your reservation as directed on the form, i.e., 72 hrs. in advance of your scheduled arrival. We never recommend using a debit card for your one-night deposit or to use when you check-in at the hotel. The hotel will "hold" an amount of money on your debit card and it could take your bank several days (or longer) to release that hold. You would not have access to those funds during the "hold" period. It is allowed but it is not recommended.
When checking in, each guest will be required to give the hotel a credit card to guarantee payment of any personal charges (telephone calls, room service, restaurant charges, in-room movies, etc.). We do not recommend that you use a debit card for this type of payment guarantee for the reasons stated above.
Scholarship students: even if your accommodations are being paid for by the USPAS, when you make your reservation you must guarantee your arrival by credit card (the one-night deposit). Please remember that this is only a guarantee (a deposit) to hold your reservation. After your arrival, the room charges for housing will be paid directly by the USPAS. If your guarantee is made by credit card and you arrive as scheduled, no room charges will be put on your card. It is important that you tell us if your travel plans do not match what is on the web form; note that some date changes may make you responsible for payment, e.g., if you arrive earlier than or stay later than School dates. Also, if you are scheduled to have a roommate and one does not appear, notify the USPAS Office the following morning so that your room can be reassigned if necessary. Otherwise you may be responsible for room charges. If you do not have a credit card to give at check-in for your personal charges ("incidentals"), please contact the USPAS.
The USPAS will pay for your room only during the dates of the program. If you arrive earlier or stay later than those dates, you are responsible for paying the extra cost.
Parking
If you book your hotel room through our housing link, the reduced rate for self-parking at the hotel is $30.00 per day.
Meals
The USPAS will provide group breakfasts and dinners to all participants (students and teaching teams). Breakfasts will be available from 7:30 am to 9:00 am from Monday January 26 through Friday February 6 (including the weekend, i.e. 12 breakfasts). Dinners will be provided from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. from Sunday, January 25 through Thursday, February 5 (including the weekend, i.e. 12 dinners). Students attending both weeks of the school will receive 12 breakfasts and 12 dinners, students attending one week of the school will receive 5 breakfasts and 5 dinners. Attendees are free to make their own lunch arrangements.
If space will allow, meal tickets for accompanying persons may be purchased from the USPAS Office.
Study Room
USPAS Study is scheduled every evening from 7:00 p.m. to midnight (including the weekend).
Class Computing Requirements and Internet Access
We will not have a Computer Lab with shared PCs so all participants are required to bring their own computer to access online course notes and computer resources. This can be a laptop or a tablet with a sufficiently large screen and keyboard. Windows, Mac, and Linux-based systems that are wifi capable and have a standard web browser and mouse are all acceptable. You should have privileges for software installs. If you are unable to bring a computer, please contact uspas@fnal.gov ASAP. Very limited IT support and spare loaner laptops will be available during the session..
The USPAS will provide free internet in the classrooms and guest rooms.
Airport and Ground Transportation
The closest airport is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY). A taxi from the airport to the hotel (or any point in the city of New Orleans) is a flat $36.00 for one or 2 passengers. You can also take Uber/Lyft but be aware that dynamic pricing could increase the cost considerably.
Code of Conduct
Please read our Code of Conduct.