The Research Mentorship program is a hands-on program for highly motivated high school students interested in participating in the conduct of original academic research in the arts, humanities, social sciences, life or physical sciences, or engineering. All students will enroll in the two UCSB interdisciplinary courses (click here for description), and earn 8 UC credit units. Students will work with their research mentor who will act as the faculty advisor. Here's how it works. Starting March, short descriptions of 40-60 anticipated research projects will be added to the program’s website and made available to potential applicants for review and selection. Each applicant will select and prioritized 6 projects which they find attractive, and will be assigned a mentor, usually one of the top 3-4 they chose. If applicants have not been matched yet with a mentor when they arrive at UCSB (on June 25th) they will receive multiple abstracts of potential-mentors along their expressed disciplines of interests, and asked to prioritize their selection by June 27th. They too will be assigned one of the mentors they selected, usually one of the top 3-4 projects they listed. You will work in the lab, library and/or in the field, and be guided in research techniques, learning how to collect and analyze data, how to write a research paper publication style, and how to present your findings in a research symposium.
In addition, there are many other activities associated with the Research Mentorship Program. These change from year to year, and may include field trips to the Channel Islands just off the coast of Santa Barbara and/or trips to various research locations, aquaculture, medical and technological facilities in Santa Barbara and the surrounding areas. Other activities include special lectures on a variety of pertinent social and scientific topics (these are open events so friends may be invited). During Friday afternoon class meetings, students will share information about progress in their research, expanding everyone's scientific horizons and practicing their stage presentation skills. When the time and tide are right, students may participate in a field trip to a nearby beach to see the nighttime grunion runs and join searches for bioluminescent organisms. By the end of the program, students will have completed a publication-style research paper, and during the final week each research group will present their findings at a Formal Research Symposium which will be open to the public.
Many program alumni keep in touch with their mentor and co-researchers by e-mail. The popularity of this program has grown dramatically since it began in 1995, so apply early!
For additional information contact UCSB Summer Sessions Pre-College Programs
PHONE: 805-893-8950 | FAX: 805-893-7306