Every summer, high school sophomores and juniors trade their bedrooms for a dorm room at the University of Iowa and, officially, become registered University of Iowa students. That’s the defining detail of the Secondary Student Training Program Iowa, or SSTP: participants aren’t auditing a summer camp. They’re registered University of Iowa students for five and a half weeks, earning three semester hours of undergraduate credit while conducting research under a faculty mentor.
For an advanced high school student considering an intensive summer research program, SSTP offers rare access to university-level research while working toward broader academic and professional goals. If you’re weighing the Secondary Student Training Program Iowa cost, timeline, and admission requirements against other summer research options, this guide can help. It walks through what the program actually costs, how it evaluates applicants, and whether it’s worth the investment for your family.
The Secondary Student Training Program (SSTP) is a residential summer research program for high school students, administered by the University of Iowa’s Belin-Blank Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development. Research is the core of the program: participants are matched with University of Iowa faculty mentors and spend five and a half weeks conducting original research with their research groups. As part of a major research intensive university, SSTP gives students access to faculty-led research environments across participating departments. SSTP students are also registered University of Iowa students and earn three semester hours of undergraduate credit for successful completion, obtaining an official University of Iowa academic record.
Worth noting up front: SSTP Iowa is a separate program from the Student Science Training Program at the University of Florida (UF SSTP). The two share an acronym but little else: different host university, different cost, and a different format. This guide covers the Iowa program exclusively; see the FAQ below for how the two compare.
Research sits at the center of the SSTP schedule. Students work with their research group from roughly 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, supplemented by academic skill-building, required evening seminars on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and activities such as yoga and improv. Faculty mentors come from participating departments across the University of Iowa, giving students opportunities to learn from world class faculty, with the specific research areas available each summer depending on which mentors are participating and how a student’s stated interests align with their work.
Past participating research areas have included biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology, civil and environmental engineering, and psychiatry. SSTP has also historically involved faculty and projects in fields such as computer science, psychology, the humanities, and environmental science, although the available departments can change from one summer to the next.
The program culminates in a research brief and an academic poster. Students complete a project with their research group and present their poster at the conclusion of SSTP. The 2025 SSTP research posters, published by the Belin-Blank Center, give a sense of the scope and range of past projects.
SSTP eligibility is narrower than many summer research programs:
The University of Iowa doesn’t publish an official acceptance rate for SSTP, although it describes the program as highly selective. The Belin-Blank Center publishes four selection criteria in priority order: the quality and content of the essays, transcripts and standardized test scores, letters of recommendation, and alignment between the student’s research interests and a participating faculty mentor’s work.
Applicants write two essays, one describing their research interests and another explaining why they are applying, their career aspirations, and what they hope to gain from SSTP. Because mentor alignment is part of the selection process, the research areas available in a particular year can affect an applicant’s chances even when the rest of the application process is strong.
SSTP’s core distinction is structural: it is university-driven and grants credit that becomes part of a student’s University of Iowa academic record rather than ending with a standalone certificate. Students aren’t observing research from the sidelines. They’re registered University of Iowa students conducting original research under faculty mentorship for the length of the program. That structure gives SSTP several features associated with university research experiences: faculty mentorship, original research, university registration, and transcripted credit.
The residential format also gives students time to live and work alongside other students, potentially forming meaningful friendships with intellectual peers while sharing an academically demanding summer experience. For some participants, the experience may also help students realize which research questions or academic fields they want to explore further.
The ability to earn college credit while still in high school also fits into a broader Iowa emphasis on connecting secondary and postsecondary education. Through Senior Year Plus, Iowa high school students can access programs such as concurrent enrollment, which allows eligible students to earn both high school and college credit.
Iowa also offers Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs for secondary students. The state organizes CTE into six broad service areas covering agriculture, food, and natural resources; arts, communications, and information systems; applied sciences, technology, engineering, and manufacturing; health sciences; human services; and business, finance, marketing, and management.
For families comparing SSTP against other research options, our guide to summer research opportunities breaks down what to look for when comparing mentorship, academic oversight, research ownership, and final outputs across summer programs.
Still, prestige and structure are only part of the equation. More important than a program’s name recognition is how deeply a student engages with the work in front of them. A motivated student who engages seriously with their research project and faculty mentorship can make much more of the five-and-a-half-week experience than one who treats the program primarily as a credential.
A student accepted to SSTP can then move on to the program’s enrollment, deposit, and financial-aid steps.
For comparison, the 2023 SSTP cycle opened applications on December 15, 2022, closed them on February 16, 2023, and released admission decisions on April 3, 2023. That year’s residential program ran from June 21 through July 28.
SSTP’s program fee is $7,500. The fee covers room and board, program materials, admission to regularly scheduled activities, and the three semester hours of University of Iowa undergraduate credit students earn through successful completion. It does not cover transportation to and from Iowa City or incidental expenses such as snacks and souvenirs.
There are three main payment deadlines: the $95 non-refundable application fee is due with the application in February, a 25% non-refundable deposit is due in April after acceptance, and the remaining program fees are due in June before the program begins.
Admitted students can apply for financial aid that may cover up to 95% of the program’s cost. The Belin-Blank Center also administers merit- and need-based scholarships specific to SSTP, including donor funds from the Perry Family of New York specifically designated to help students from New York attend the program. It’s a detail worth knowing for New York families weighing the fee.
Students live in university dorms with a roommate and eat in the university dining hall. Oversight runs around the clock: SSTP says students are under the supervision of a resident advisor, program coordinator, instructor, or laboratory staff member at all times. Parents or guardians may visit on Sunday mornings by advance arrangement with program staff. Evenings include seminars on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, along with recurring activities such as yoga and improv woven around the research schedule.
For a student who wants an extended residential research experience with a faculty mentor and transcripted university credit, SSTP provides all three. The harder calculation for many families is cost and time. Does the $7,500 fee, offset by financial aid or Perry Family funding where applicable, fit the family budget? And can the student commit to five and a half weeks away from home?
SSTP does not promise a particular college-admissions outcome. What it does offer is a structured, credit-bearing introduction to sustained research under a University of Iowa faculty mentor, alongside seminars, academic assignments, and residential campus life.
Beyond research programs such as SSTP, Iowa gives high school students several other ways to connect classroom learning with college and careers. Community colleges partner with school districts on career academies and concurrent-enrollment programs, while Career and Technical Student Organizations provide leadership and competitive opportunities tied to CTE fields.
Iowa’s career-connected learning initiatives also incorporate work-based experiences. These can include internships and apprenticeships, including Registered Apprenticeships that combine employment and on-the-job learning with related instruction. Students in CTE pathways may also have opportunities to earn industry-recognized credentials.
SSTP is one of several university-based research options for high school students, and our roundup of the 45 best academic summer research programs surveys others worth comparing it against. When weighing SSTP against those alternatives, consider the available research areas, faculty mentorship, five-and-a-half-week residential commitment, cost after financial aid, and the value of earning transcripted University of Iowa credit.
Families evaluating SSTP alongside other options can also browse our roundup of science summer programs for high school students. A few programs frequently compared to SSTP include:
The $7,500 SSTP program fee covers room, board, program materials, admission to all regularly scheduled activities, and three semester hours of undergraduate credit from the University of Iowa. Travel to and from Iowa City, along with day-to-day extras such as snacks and souvenirs, is the family’s responsibility. Financial aid, where awarded, can reduce the program cost by up to 95%.
Yes. Students who successfully complete SSTP earn three semester hours of undergraduate credit from the University of Iowa. Participants are registered University of Iowa students during the program rather than students in a non-credit enrichment course.
No. Despite sharing the SSTP acronym, the Secondary Student Training Program at the University of Iowa and the University of Florida’s Student Science Training Program are separate programs with different hosts, costs, eligibility rules, and formats. UF’s program runs seven weeks and centers on faculty-mentored research in science, medicine, mathematics, computer science, and engineering for rising seniors. Iowa’s SSTP runs 5.5 weeks and is open to students currently in grades 10–11, with research opportunities spanning participating departments across the university. Confirm which program you’re researching before comparing costs or deadlines.
Yes. SSTP does not restrict applicants by state of residence, and the program’s grade-level eligibility applies to students nationwide. International students may also apply; if accepted, they must meet the program’s English-proficiency requirements and obtain the appropriate student visa.
For the 2027 SSTP cycle, the University of Iowa plans to release admission decisions on April 1, 2027 at 5 p.m. CT. Applications are due February 16, 2027, and the program runs June 16 through July 23.
If you’re interested in conducting the highest level of research for high school students, consider joining a Pioneer information session to learn more about the Pioneer Research Institute.
Based on a recent survey, 71 percent of Pioneer Research scholars’ acceptances were to the top 20 US colleges and universities. Additionally, our alumni report acceptances to highly-selective institutions at a rate five times higher than the school’s published acceptance rate.
If you are a 9th or 10th grader, we encourage you to also check out the Global Problem-Solving Institute. You’ll have the rare opportunity to take an interdisciplinary approach to complex world programs, while earning college credits from UNC-Chapel Hill.
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