For students wanting to work a paid summer internship for scientific research, the deadline to apply for the UGA Young Scholars Program is Saturday, Jan. 31. This year, the program runs from June 1 to July 10. Students must be at least rising high school sophomores and 16 to participate.

In order to complete the online application and find complete information about the unique opportunities offered by YSP, go to this link: http://www.caes.uga.edu/academics/internships/youngscholars/index.html. Applicants must complete the online application (series of biographical information and short essay questions) and also submit a transcript and two teacher recommendations.

Students can choose to apply either to UGA Griffin (closest, about 30 minutes away), UGA Tifton or UGA Athens. They can also choose whether to commute to campus from Monday-Friday or reside in campus housing. 

At its heart, YSP is a six-week scientific research internship, which gives students the rare opportunity to conduct research in the environmental, engineering and agricultural fields at the high school level. Senior Maria Furukawa, who worked at UGA Griffin in 2013 and again in 2014, said, “My favorite part about YSP is getting real hands-on experience with lab procedures and equipment. Working with a mentor and understanding the concepts of a specific project allowed me to get a bigger picture of how the data would impact the science world and why it is important to test and research it.”

Each intern is partnered with another YSP student to work alongside faculty and graduate students. Students develop their own research with access to professional laboratory equipment and the expertise of their mentors. At the end of the program, the interns from all three campuses participate in the Pre-Collegiate Research Conference, a three-day period of oral and visual presentations of summer projects at UGA Athens. 

However, the program offers a lot more than just science and research. Because it is paid employment, interns learn valuable career skills, such as money management, collaboration with peers and balancing job responsibilities. Program leaders also invite speakers to host workshops on career skills, such as interviewing and resume-writing.

The YSP administrators, all dedicated and friendly, make sure to connect the summer experience to the real world with seminars, field trips and fun activities. Seminars held throughout the six week programs range from cool etymology labs (the study of insects) and food science tastings to SAT/ACT planning and the UGA application process.

Two years ago at UGA Griffin, one group visited the CDC, Noah’s Ark Animal Rehabilitation Center and UGA Athens. Interns returning for a second year have the special chance to travel to Costa Rica for 10 days.

Overall, YSP gives students the unique opportunity to conduct serious research at the high school level, learn what it means to have a job in a scientific field, gain new knowledge about STEM fields, travel near and far and make new friends.