MIT: Summer Program

MIT Summer Programs

MIT does not offer a traditional open-enrollment summer school program where any high school student can come to campus to take courses and live in the dorms. However, several partner organizations run small, specialized programs on campus. If you'd rather study the human genome or build a robot than memorize this year's summer TV reruns, then you might try one of these:

Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science (MITES) is an intensive six-week residential academic enrichment program for about 80 promising high school juniors who intend to pursue careers in science, engineering and entrepreneurship, especially those from minority backgrounds and other underrepresented segments of the population. The program is free of charge to participating students, not including transportation.
Research Science Institute (RSI) brings together about 70 high school students each summer for six stimulating weeks at MIT. This rigorous academic program stresses advanced theory and research in mathematics, the sciences and engineering. Participants attend college-level classes taught by distinguished faculty members and complete hands-on research, which they often then use to enter science competitions. Open to high school juniors, the program is free of charge for those selected.
Women's Technology Program (WTP) is a four-week summer academic and residential experience where 60 female high school students explore engineering through hands-on classes (taught by female MIT graduate students), labs, and team-based projects in the summer after their junior year. Students attend WTP in either Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) or Mechanical Engineering (ME).
MIT Launch - a 4-week entrepreneurship program for high school students, teaching the entrepreneurial skills and mindset through starting real companies. Students go through rigorous coursework, collaborate with peers and mentors, and use the multitude of tools surrounding them at MIT to realize what it takes to be successful in the real world – resourcefulness, adaptability, and innovation. Many need-based scholarships are available.
While the Summer Science Program (SSP) is not on campus, MIT does co-sponsor this residential program, and many MIT students are among the program's alumni/ae. The curriculum is organized around a central research project in either Astrophysics or Biochemistry. In the Astrophysics program, each team of three students determines the orbit of a near-earth asteroid (minor planet) from direct astronomical observations. In the Biochemistry program, each team designs a small molecule to inhibit an enzyme from a fungal crop pathogen. The programs are six weeks long and offered at locations in Colorado, New Mexico, and Indiana.

Other Selective Summer Programs

Most summer programs admit all or most students who can pay the (high) tuition. However, a number of competitive-admission summer programs select only the best students on the basis of merit and are often free or comparatively affordable. MIT offers four of our own (above); here are a few more:

Science & Research Programs