Pioneer | Research Programs for High School Students

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Mpilo Norris

College: Yale University
High School: Choate Rosemary Hall, United States
Pioneer Research Paper: Comparative Inquiry Into Western Liberal Democratic Values

“Doing the research would train me to have an objective perspective on what’s going on, and not base my opinion just on sound bytes that I hear from other sources. Pioneer doesn’t just give me questions to answer. Instead, Pioneer teaches me how to make my own questions.”

Academics

Pioneer is the world’s only fully-accredited online research program for high school students

Pioneer Credibility

Pioneer Announcement
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    Pioneer is the world’s only fully-accredited online research program for high school students.
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    Pioneer is the only online undergraduate level research program for high school students offering 30 different research disciplines across STEM, the social sciences, and the humanities.
  • pioneer icon list
    Pioneer's credibility is trusted and recognized by the most selective universities and colleges.

Rigorous Academic System

Description of Pioneer's partnership with Oberlin

Pioneer and Oberlin College collaborate in the following areas to ensure the rigor of the academic operations.

Academic quality control

Pioneer collaborates with an Oberlin committee to conduct academic quality control. Pioneer insists on rigorous policies and procedures that include:

  • Screening professors
  • Faculty orientation
  • Accurate description of professorship
  • Development and evaluation of standards and rubrics
  • Review of research product and evaluation quality

Pioneer Offers A Full Spectrum of Research Areas

Anthropology

Architecture

Art History

Astronomy

Biology

Business

Chemistry

Comp. Sci.

Criminology

Culture Studies

Ecology

Economics

Education

Engineering

Envir. Studies

Film Studies

Gender Studies

History

Int’l Relations

Literature

Mathematics

Media Studies

Music/Music Theory

Neuroscience

Philosophy

Physics

Political Science

Psychology

STS (Science,
Technology and
Society)

Sociology

A few examples of past Pioneer research topics include:

  • The Socioemotional Brain and Decision Making (Neurosci.)
  • Cells and Intracellular Machines (Biology)
  • Environmental Neurotoxicology (Bio-chemistry)
  • Gravitational Waves and LIGO (Physics)
  • Combinatorics and Graph Theory (Mathematics)
  • European Integration in Comparative Perspective (International Relations)
  • African American Literature (Literature)
  • The Political Economy of International Development (Econ.)
  • Film Noir and its Contexts (Film Studies)
  • Great Scientific Controversies in Context (Science, Technology
    & Society)

Pioneer's Rigorous Academic Operations in Collaboration with Oberlin College

Graph illustrating how Pioneer and Oberlin co-conduct oversight

Pioneer Sets the Highest Standards for High School Student Research

Pioneer is committed to academic integrity and has built it into the academic system.

  • Pioneer promotes the real educational value of research. We oppose “pay-to-play” research projects or other efforts mainly to build up students’ resume;
  • Pioneer values students’ interests and challenges them to reach their full potential with high standards;
  • Pioneer requires our scholars to comply with rigorous academic processes including plagiarism check and IRB approval.
  • Pioneer is committed to updating our academic oversight over time, especially in the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT.

Respected Reputation

Because of its unique academic system, exemplary standards, and proven integrity, Pioneer’s credibility is respected by selective universities and colleges.

Schools Are Proud of Their Students Taking on the Pioneer Challenge

High School Four Pioneer Scholars
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  • Considering students have significantly fewer options for their summer enrichment, Pioneer adjusted the cohort size from maximum 5 to maximum 6 so that we can offer the opportunity to more students. Please be aware that Pioneer will only expand cohorts which we feel sure will not be compromised in any way by a slight increase in participation. Some areas, therefore, may stay at a maximum of 5 because the nature of the course requires heavier coaching.

 

  • Pioneer admissions still requires the same application materials, but we may adjust the timing in response to current realities. If you can work with your counselor to collect your official transcript and counselor evaluation and submit them soon after you submit your application, it will speed up the process. Pioneer admissions requires an official transcript and counselor evaluation to process applications for the final round. If these items won't be available during the process due to COVID-19, applicants must submit evidence that the school's counseling office is closed. Pioneer admissions will then decide what adjustment shall be granted.