Summer Programs

If you'd rather study the human genome or build a robot than master the finer points of archery or memorize this year's summer TV reruns, we've got the programs for you:

MIT's residential summer programs offer a great way to keep your brain fizzing happily, get a feel for what it might be like to attend MIT for real, and meet a lot of other young people who also get a kick out of using their heads.

• Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science (MITES) Program is an intensive six-week residential academic enrichment program for about 80 promising high school juniors who intend to pursue careers in science, engineering and entrepreneurship, especially those from minority backgrounds and other underrepresented segments of the population. The program is free of charge to participating students, not including transportation.

• Research Science Institute (RSI) brings together about 70 high school students each summer for six stimulating weeks at MIT. This rigorous academic program stresses advanced theory and research in mathematics, the sciences and engineering. Participants attend college-level classes taught by distinguished faculty members and complete hands-on research, which they often then use to enter science competitions. Open to high school juniors, the program is free of charge for those selected.

• Women's Technology Program (WTP) is a four-week summer academic and residential experience where 60 female high school students explore engineering through hands-on classes (taught by female MIT graduate students), labs, and team-based projects in the summer after their junior year. Students attend WTP in either Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) or Mechanical Engineering (ME).

MIT also co-sponsors the following program:

• Summer Science Program (SSP) is a six-week residential summer program affiliated with MIT, held at campuses in California and New Mexico. At each campus, 36 students perform a hands-on astronomical research project from start to finish, determining the orbit of an asteroid from their own observations, measurements, and software. Field trips and guest lectures round out the curriculum. Since 1959 over 150 SSP alumni have subsequently enrolled at MIT.

You may also wish to explore the summer programs listed in the Science Fairs & Olympiads section.