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SHTEM: Summer Internships for High Schoolers and Community College Students

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Presentation Day from Summer 2023

SHTEM Program Applications for Summer 2024 are now closed.

  • The program for Summer 2024 will be fully virtual.

  • We will continue to admit community college (CC) students of age 21 and under at the time of application (early CC students). High school students and CC students will be placed in project groups among their respective peers. In other words, in daily activities, high school students will interact among other high school students and CC students will interact with other CC students, with the exception of program-wide activities such as orientation and final presentations.

  • Decisions will be emailed out late April.

The Stanford Compression Forum is offering its annual summer internship program for the Summer of 2024. We are looking for passionate high school and early CC students interested in pursuing fun research projects over the summer.

 This internship is intended to provide early exposure to research transcending traditional disciplinary boundaries. Students will be grouped to multifaceted projects that will benefit from their existing interests and strengths, while exposing them to new areas. Projects will be mentored by students, faculty and staff of the Stanford Compression Forum and its affiliated organizations. Themes will span and combine the science of information and communication, engineering, the arts, linguistics, psychology, biology, neuroscience, computer science, technology, philosophy, and design, among other areas.    

Program Goals:

  • Provide high school and CC students early exposure to cutting-edge research in an academic environment

  • Introduce students to the diversity of research topics pursued in engineering

  • Emphasize the inseparability of the humanities and the human element from research in STEM

Eligibility (all requirements must be met to apply):

  • Must be currently a high school junior or senior in the 2023-2024 school year (i.e. 11th or 12th grade at the time of application) OR a full-time CC student (within first three years of CC)

  • If you are a high school junior or senior, you must be at least 14 by June 17. If you are a full-time CC student, you must be within the ages of 17-21 (inclusive) by June 17.

No exceptions can be made for any eligibility requirements (e.g. if you are currently a high school sophomore, you are not eligible to apply).

Program:

The internship program for Summer 2024 will be 8 weeks long. Students are expected to attend the entire duration of the internship.

  • Start date: Monday, June 17, 2024

  • End date: Friday, August 9, 2024

Housing and Transportation:

The program for Summer 2024 will be fully virtual.

Application:

Applications for Summer 2024 are now closed.

  • Please note that due to the volume of applications, we do not confirm the submission of different application components.

Financial Assistance:

Although this internship is unpaid, if spending the time needed to participate in this program would pose a financial burden, please let us know in your application.

We’d love to be able to admit all applicants. But that is not realistic. If you’re not admitted, it’s because we failed to integrate you into the few projects we were able to create with our group of mentors.   

Past Projects:

News:

September 2022

Summer 2022 Cohort

August 2021

Summer 2021 Cohort
Summer 2021 Cohort

August 2020

2020 Group Photo
Presentation Day from Summer 2020

March 2020 SHTEM was highlighted by Stanford News! Check out our interview with them here: High school interns inspire new research paths.

December 2019

Silicon Valley

SHTEM was mentioned on the 2019 series finale of HBO's Silicon Valley (the above photo shows SHTEM on the whiteboard). Richard Hendricks serves as a great fictional mentor! Read more about Professor Tsachy Weissman's involvement in the program here. Two interns from 2019, Aditi Talati and Karan Bhasin had their work from the summer accepted at the 2020 Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) conference. Congratulations!

2019 Cohort
Presentation Day from Summer 2019

 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):

  • My student is currently a high school sophomore and will be a rising junior. OR My student meets the age requirement but is not currently a junior or senior in high school. Can they apply?
    • No, they are not eligible, but we encourage you to apply next year! Students must meet ALL eligibility requirements to be eligible.
  • Will the 2024 program be remote or in-person?
    • The 2024 program will be fully remote.
  • When is the application due?
    • EXTENDED Deadline: March 1st, 2024 at 11:59PM PT
  • How many rounds of application are there? Is there a waiting list?
    • We conduct a single round of applications. This year, we are offering a waiting list.
  • How many high school students are typically accepted?
    • In our fifth year (Summer 2023), we accepted ~60 students. This number may change next year.
  • Can international students apply?
    • Yes, we are currently accepting international students.
  • I'm a US Citizen but not currently residing in the US. Can I apply?
    • Yes, you can apply.
  • Does the program typically involve group mentoring or is it primarily 1:1 research mentoring?
    • Students are mentored in groups in sizes ranging from 2-5.
  • Does the program provide housing?
    • The 2024 program will be fully remote. (Answer from past years: We do not provide housing. Students are responsible for having a living arrangement and commuting to campus. Note that students under the age of 18 are not allowed to live without residential supervision.)
  • Do potential applicants need to have any prior research experience?
    • No. Students are not expected to have prior research experience. We especially encourage students without any research experience to apply.
  • Does this program include an interview component?
    • No.
  • What particular skills do you look for in potential applicants?
    • We are looking for driven students who are eager to learn in a fast-paced environment.
  • Can I submit more than 1 Letter of Recommendation? Do you have a preference for who writes the letter?
    • No, we will only accept ONE Letter of Recommendation. There is no preference, although it should be someone who can speak to your strengths.
  • Can research projects completed during this internship be submitted to any Science fairs such as Google Science Fair or Regeneron or Siemens/Discovery Edu?
    • This is determined on an individual basis during the internship.
  • Can previous SHTEM interns apply?
    • We welcome returning interns to apply, but preference will be given to applicants without SHTEM experience.
  • Is there a cost to attending the program?
    • Besides the $50 application fee, there is no cost to participate. For students who demonstrate financial need, we provide stipends.
  • My student is a high school student. Will they be interacting with college students?
    • Only in program-wide activities. All college students will be subject to Stanford’s Protection of Minors policy and interactions with minors is strictly limited to the internship program.
  • Since the program is remote, what are daily activities like?
    • You will spend most of the time conducting research from where you are residing (if you are working on hardware projects, we will send you materials) and be in regular communication with your mentor(s) and group members. You may expect 30-40 hours of work a week. Your day-to-day schedule is determined between you and your mentor once you have been assigned to a project. If you have possible conflicts, please mention them in your application.

If you have questions/concerns (please read the FAQ first for questions on eligibility; we cannot make exceptions on any of these criteria), reach us at shtem_internship@ee.stanford.edu.

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