The Research Mentorship Program is a competitive summer program that engages qualified, high-achieving high school students from all over the world in interdisciplinary, hands-on, university-level research. Students will be paired up with a mentor (graduate student, postdoc, or faculty) and choose a research project from a large list of disciplines offered by the program each year.

Credit

Residential

Commuter

Hybrid

Accepts International Students

Financial Aid

Final project

Our program is unique because it allows students to be exposed to a wide variety of interdisciplinary research topics, and then rank a selection of projects that they would prefer to work on. Students will be paired with a project and a research mentor (graduate student, postdoc, or faculty) to conduct hands-on, university-level research.

In addition to forging a deep relationship with their mentor, students will learn about research techniques, gain insight into professional research-based opportunities, and mature their academic goals. The lecture series - GRIT talks - will connect students to some of the best minds among the UC Santa Barbara research community as they present on their ground-breaking research and innovative technology. Along with these academic benefits, students will be immersed in university life and network with equally ambitious and curious peers.

Research Project Selection

Research topics may change each summer depending on the available mentors, however the focus is always on recent research developments that demonstrate the use of university-level methods of investigation in departments across campus. Please feel free to inquire about any discipline that interests you. Research areas include, but are not limited to:

Anthropology
Earth Science
Geography
Music
Biochemistry
Ecology
Global Studies
Neuroscience
Biology
Economics
History
Physics
Chemistry
Education
Marine Biology
Psychology
Chicana/o Studies
Engineering
Mathematics
Sociology
Computer Science
Environmental Policy
Media, Arts & Tech
Statistics
Research

Mentorship Program Courses
Students earn a total of 8 university credits by enrolling in two interdisciplinary research courses, described below.

Exploratory Course - Presentation Techniques
As students conduct research throughout the course of the program, this course prepares them to share their findings with varied audiences across different formats. Students will focus on oral presentation methods, poster presentation structure, and elevator pitch techniques. As part of this course, students will be exposed to high-level interdisciplinary research being conducted by UC Santa Barbara researchers who are seminal leaders in their fields through the evening lecture series, GRIT Talks.

Lecture Course - Introduction to Research
This course will introduce students to writing techniques specific to communicating research findings at a university level. Students will learn about the elements of a research paper, and hone their ability to author a formal paper. This includes constructing an abstract, introduction, research goals and methods, discussion and results, and references section. At the conclusion of this course, students will be able to translate their hands-on guided research experience in the field, library, or laboratory into a collection of findings that other researchers can build upon.

Competitions and Further Research
After completing RMP, students may wish to share their research experience in a variety of contexts, including but not limited to competitions, college applications, and other academic activities. In order to reference the research conducted during the program, students must receive proper permission from involved parties — their mentor, the Principal Investigator of the research project, and the Director of Academic Programs. Failure to receive proper permission is subject to legal action. In some instances, it is possible for our students to continue their research remotely throughout the school year, though this must only be done with the guidance and consent of the research mentor and the Director of Academic Programs.

Research Mentorship Program

Jun 17 - Aug 02

7 weeks

Commuter

4700 USD

Research Mentorship Program

Jun 17 - Aug 02

7 weeks

Residential

11299 USD

2023 Program Cost, 2024 program costs will be posted later.

COMMUTER OPTION
$75 Application Fee (non-refundable)
$250 Enrollment Deposit (non-refundable; applied to the Tuition and Program Fees)
$4,700 Tuition and Program Fees

RESIDENTIAL OPTION
$75 Application Fee (non-refundable)
$250 Enrollment Deposit (non-refundable; applied to the Tuition and Program Fees)
$4,700 Tuition and Program Fees
$6,599 Housing and Meal Fees (These fees apply to residential students only, and are collected by Summer Discovery)

The application fee is due at submission of application. This fee is non-refundable.

The enrollment deposit is due at time of acceptance confirmation. Enrollment deposits are applied to the tuition and program fees. This fee is non-refundable.

Scholarships

A limited number of scholarships are available and awarded based on need, qualifications, and availability. Priority is given to California residents. If you are interested in applying for a scholarship, please indicate your interest within your program application. Your guardian will receive an email to complete the scholarship application if you are admitted into the program.