The dates of the 2025 program are June 8 through July 11.

The application for the summer 2025 program will go live on January 2, 2025.

Questions? Please refer first to our FAQ page.

About the Welch Summer Scholar Program

The Welch Summer Scholar Program (WSSP), sponsored by the Robert A. Welch Foundation, began more than 40 years ago. To date, the WSSP has provided nearly 3000 Texas high school students with unique opportunities to participate in hands-on, cutting edge research projects using state-of-the-art equipment and modern technology. Costs for housing, on-campus meals, and laboratory expenses are all covered by a grant from the Welch Foundation.

The program is open only to sophomore and junior students who attend high school in Texas. Selected individuals will participate in a five-week summer residency program engaging in one-on-one mentoring and first-hand research training with faculty and graduate students at one of six Texas universities. Participating institutions are The University of Texas at Austin, The University of Texas at Arlington, The University of Texas at Dallas, The University of Houston, Texas A&M University and Texas Tech University.

The primary goal of WSSP is to expose partipants to a rigorous scientific research experience while also giving them a glimpse into life on a college campus. Through assignments, research projects, guest speaker series, tours of chemistry-based research facilities and presentations of personal research findings, students will complete the program with a better understanding of chemical principles and how to conduct research. Many participants go on to pursue undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in STEM fields.

Students selected for the WSSP are chosen on a competitive basis by the selection committee comprised of participating faculty at each of the six universities. The committee considers various factors in their selection such as SAT and ACT scores, academic standing, participation in extracurricular activities, writing skills, and teacher recommendations.