University of Massachusetts Amherst Summer Research Intensives

Retrieved from: NBC.com

Eligibility: Rising Sophomores-Seniors

Where: UMass Amherst*

When: June-August

Length: 6 weeks*

Price: $5,000 (Financial Aid available)

NOTE*: The science labs are not providing the opportunity for summer research because of the COVID pandemic and only psychology labs are available. Psychology labs have been reduced to 5 weeks and will be completely virtual.

About:

The Research Intensives Program is a summer program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst that allows high schoolers to conduct high-quality research on their scientific passions. Laboratories are divided into Psychology labs and Science Labs with topics ranging from microbiology to cancer research to botany. The program is one of the only programs available for rising sophomores in Las Vegas to conduct research and can serve as a great segway to other summer camps that are available to students later in their high school career as it establishes many useful skills that can be applied in future projects.

Application:

The application consists of a one-page essay that discusses an applicant's top 3 choices for their labs and why they would like to attend. Admissions to the program are rolling, and the program culminates in a poster presentation at the end of the six weeks. Students can also earn a semester's worth of college credit. One admissions tip that I would provide is that even if a student does not have much experience, showing your passion for science and your desire to perform research will greatly help increase your chances of admission.

Personal Experience:

Personally, I was able to attend this program in the summer before my sophomore year as at the time, it was the only research opportunity that I could find that I was eligible for. My undergraduate advisers and lab mentors were extremely helpful, and I conducted great research that I eventually am in the process of publishing in a journal. For older students, although there are certainly more well-known research camps out there, I think that this program is one that is lesser-known, but performs similar quality research and gives a lot of independence to the students. Furthermore, as admissions are rolling, this is a program that students can apply to in the event that they still want to pursue summer research but were rejected from other summer programs.

One disclaimer I would provide is that an individual's experience at the program can change drastically depending on the lab that they attend. Certain labs at the program require students to spend a shorter time in the lab as a majority of the data analysis can be done in the dorms whereas other labs require students to stay longer hours to conduct wet-lab experiments. Additionally, certain labs have their students work in groups whereas other labs give their students complete independence and the ability to design their own experiments. Many of my friends in science labs definitely had a more intensive research experience than those in psychology labs, but everyone came away with great research. Regardless, I think that each experience has its own lessons that a student can learn and also provides the opportunity for research that is so hard to come by for many students in Vegas. Ultimately, I felt that your experience and what you get out of the program is ultimately how much work and effort you put in.

The program also includes trips to local museums and Six Flags and is also in a college town centered in Western Massachusetts which can help students when they start to consider different factors for what kind of college they would like to attend in the future.

Note for Rising Sophomores

For rising sophomores, I think that this program is one that anyone interested in research should apply for. I was able to develop a greater mentorship with my research adviser that I still have today nearly two years later and it was a great stepping stone for my future endeavors, but also provided me with an edge when applying to more competitive programs later in high school. I also think that it really solidified my own passion for biology and taught me many of the basic tools for research and how to present, which I think are skills anyone would benefit from learning.

Application Materials can be found here: https://www.umass.edu/uww/programs/pre-college/summer