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High School Student Research Education Program

Program Description

The Scripps Research Institute's High School Student Research Education Program exposes students to contemporary issues in biomedical research and provides hands-on laboratory experience and mentorship.  It is committed to increasing the number of talented students who choose a career in the biological and chemical sciences, particularly first-generation college-bound students and students from groups that are underrepresented in science.

Funding for this program has been provided by grants from the Hearst Foundation; The Valenzuela Charitable Trust; and other private endowments. Past supporters include the Amgen Foundation, the Samuel H. and Katherine Weaver French Fund and the Maurice J. Masserini Charitable Trust, both administered by Wells Fargo Bank; the Joseph Drown Foundation; the Carl E. Wynn Foundation; the Bank of America Foundation; and other private donors to Scripps Research.

Program Parameters

Students selected will participate in this comprehensive program that consists of four primary components:

• Spring Enrichment Tutorials: From mid May through mid June students will meet on five consecutive Wednesday afternoons on the Scripps Research campus for courses on aspects of modern molecular biology and chemistry, taught by doctoral students at the Institute.
  
  
• Biotechnology Boot Camp: Students who have attended all spring tutorial sessions and are placed in a lab for the summer will attend a one week non-paid pre-internship training course. The 'boot camp' will be held at the Grossmont and Miramar Colleges June 21 – 25, 2010. College credit for the training course may be available for qualified applicants.
  
  
• Summer Research Internship Program: Through an interview process with principal investigators, students will be matched with a research laboratory for an internship, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., from June 28 – August 13, 2010.
  
  
• Mentorship Program: Over the course of the summer, each high school student will be paired with a graduate student mentor outside the lab who will meet with them regularly to help guide the student through their experience in the lab, the college application/selection process, the application essay, etc.
  
  

Eligibility / Compensation

Research Internships are awarded on a competitive basis to United States citizens or permanent residents who are enrolled in their junior or senior years in a high school in San Diego County, with a minimum grade point average of 3.0. Students must be 16 years of age or older. Students must have taken one year of biology and one year of chemistry prior to the start of the program.  Students under 18 must submit a work permit application (available from the high school career center). A special emphasis is placed on identifying and recruiting students who are historically underrepresented in the sciences (i.e., African-American, Hispanic, Native Pacific Islander, or Native American students).

Students are awarded a gross compensation of $9.00 per hour for the summer internship program. 

2010 Calendar

Spring Enrichment Tutorials 2010

Tutorials are held after school on the following dates:

• May 19
• May 26
• June 2
• June 9
• June 16

Application Procedures

All items listed in the application packet must be submitted at one time to the San Diego Workforce Partnership.  Incomplete applications will not be considered. 

For more information please contact:  

Marisela Chevez
Office of Communications
Phone: (858) 784-2171
Fax: (858) 784-8136
E-mail: mchevez@scripps.edu 

Click here to download the application form.