Summer Science Program Experience

Summer Science Program offers teens an exhilarating and inspiring immersion into hands-on experimental science at university campuses, taught by renowned faculty.

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This distinguished pre-college summer scientific program (co-sponsored by MIT, the University of Colorado Boulder (shown), Caltech, and the New Mexico Institute of Technology) allows students to immerse themselves in a primary research topic in astrophysics or biochemistry. Teams in the astrophysics program use astronomical patterns to calculate the trajectory of a near-Earth asteroid, while teams in the biochemistry program create a tiny chemical that can suppress an enzyme from a fungal crop pathogen.

The Summer Science Program immerses youth in exciting and stimulating hands-on experimental science. Over the course of 39 days, 36 participants and 7 teachers build a supportive “living and learning community” by working in teams of three. Each team completes a genuine research project that includes collecting and evaluating original data. Following that, students join a global network of over 2,500 alumni of all ages. We ran six programs in 2022 (dates and places for 2023 will be revealed in December):

Three in astronomy: near-Earth asteroid orbit determination study at New Mexico Tech, University of Colorado Boulder, and University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Two in biochemistry: Purdue University and Indiana University both do research on fungal agricultural diseases.
One in Genomics: antibiotic resistance evolution study, also at Purdue
SSP is an autonomous charity that operates, governs, and is mostly supported by its own graduates and past teachers… For more than six decades, it has provided eloquent witness to its influence on young people.

SSP is accessible to current high school juniors (and a few very excellent sophomores) who have passed the prerequisites by the summer and will be at least 15 years old but not quite 19.

Where: Colorado, New Mexico, or Indiana
How Long: Six weeks
Specific Subjects: Astrophysics, Biochemistry
How Much: $6,950 (includes tuition, transportation to the program, room & board, and supplies). Thanks to generous donations, last year every participant was able to attend the program for free.