Eligibility Requirements
Rising 10th through 12th graders and community college students. To participate in the residential experience, students must be at least 15–17 years old.
Application Requirements:
- School transcript (Chemistry: Grade of C or above)
- Resume
- Cover letter
- Recommendation letter
Location
Mies Campus
Dates/Time
July 8–August 2
This program will take place from 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Cost
Residential: $5,500; a $100 deposit is due at the time of registration
Commuter: $3,500; a $100 deposit is due at the time of registration
Application Deadline
March 31, 2024 (Following this deadline, our faculty will commence their review process. Please be aware that you should expect to receive a decision by mid-April.)
Program Description
The Summer Scholar Program (SSP) in the Department of Chemistry at Illinois Tech is intended for high school students of all academic strengths, as long as they are passionate about learning and are interested in doing hands-on chemistry research. Research areas include, but are not limited to, bioanalytical chemistry, computational chemistry, biochemistry, environmental chemistry, forensic chemistry, and materials chemistry with real-world applications related to energy and sustainability, light science, medicinal science, sensor science and technology, computational science, data science, bioanalysis, and health. Selected students will be paired with a professor as the faculty adviser in the department and will work in their research lab for a period of four weeks over summer 2024. Early start and extension would be offered based on student and adviser availability and research project progress. High school students who are interested in gaining hands-on chemistry research experience on Illinois Tech’s campus are welcome to apply. Those who are capable of commuting to our campus on a daily basis are encouraged to apply as well. Students who take this course are able to count it toward three college credits (CHEM 450).
Example Activities
Under the supervision of a faculty adviser, work side-by-side in scientific research labs with graduate and undergraduate researchers on cross-cutting research projects in scientific areas, including but not limited to, green energy and sustainability, batteries, photocatalysts, luminescent nanomaterials for fingerprint detection, chemical and biological sensors, biocomposite materials as tissue engineering scaffolds, therapeutic and theranostic antibody drug conjugates for targeted cancer therapy and imaging, porous materials for gas separation and adsorption, and computational chemistry in drug discovery.
Throughout the program, residential students will have the opportunity to further enhance their understanding of chemical science through evening sessions. These sessions are scheduled to take place from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Instructor
Illinois Tech Professor of Chemistry Yuanbing Mao
Questions?
Questions about the application process? Email them to precollege@iit.edu.