University of Illinois Summer Research Programs for High School Students from Underrepresented Groups

For the past several years, we have run a 6 week summer research program for local high school students from underrepresented groups. These students typically work with graduate student mentors on the grad students’ research projects. The grad students receive mentorship training with an emphasis on working with people from diverse backgrounds. We have found that having a high school teacher involved part- or full-time in the projects substantially enhances the outcomes. We pay the high school students a $2000 stipend with transportation and lunch provided. In groups, they receive college prep support as well as instruction on preparing a scientific poster and giving a poster presentation. The high school students display their posters at a final scientific symposium to which parents, teachers and friends are invited.

We now deliver the program across the Grainger College of Engineering, of which the Physics Department is a part, as well as in the Carle-Illinois College of Medicine. Pre-pandemic, we were serving about 30 students per summer. Although we had a small program in 2020, in 2021 we expanded to include remote programs for a few students in inner-city Chicago schools. For 2022, we are considering both residential and hybrid programs to serve students from a wider region.