Every summer, the University of Illinois pairs each incoming Young Scholar with a fellow student researcher, and often with a teacher from that student’s own school, for a full six weeks. That structural choice says something about how the UIUC Grainger WYSE Young Scholars program approaches STEMM research projects: not as a solitary academic exercise, but as something built around collaboration and continuity between a school and its students.
For rising sophomores, juniors and seniors across Illinois and six neighboring states, this free, six-week residential program offers a rare combination — genuine university research experience, campus housing and a peer (sometimes a mentor from home) working alongside them the whole way. This guide covers what the program costs, who qualifies, how competitive it really is, and whether it’s worth the six-week commitment.
The program’s full name is the Young Scholars Summer STEMM Research Program(s), run by Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering (WYSE) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Grainger College of Engineering. One of its two 2026 research tracks, SpHERES, is organized in partnership with the Carle Illinois College of Medicine.
According to WYSE, the program operates as a “Broadening Participation initiative,” created to support and empower students from traditionally excluded populations in STEMM initiatives; the program states that any student meeting its grade and geographic requirements can apply, with no additional academic prerequisites. That’s worth keeping in mind as you weigh this program against other university-driven research opportunities. For a broader look at how these programs differ from one another, see our guide to summer research opportunities for high school students.
The program is research group based, with a strong focus on STEMM research and problem solving. Young Scholars can expect to spend 30 to 35 hours a week getting hands on experience in lab and field research plus career-readiness programming and professional development, almost entirely on the Urbana-Champaign campus. Depending on their assigned research group, students develop research work in fields such as neuroscience, bioengineering, artificial intelligence, data science, kinesiology, computer science, mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, electrical engineering, civil engineering, and materials science. Participating students are guided by a mix of faculty, postdoctoral researchers, graduate and medical students, and undergraduates as they produce an independent research paper.
Each week also includes structured seminars on topics such as the college admissions process, scientific communication and how to prepare a research poster — skills meant to carry beyond the summer itself. Every student is paired with a research partner for the six-week program; many teams also include a teacher from the student’s school, though WYSE doesn’t require it.
The program concludes with a final research symposium, where students present their findings as a poster to faculty, mentors and family. You can review past projects in WYSE’s symposium archive, which the program publishes online each year.
WYSE currently organizes Young Scholars into two research groups, though the specific groups offered have shifted from year to year — earlier cycles, for example, also included a POETS track. For 2026, the two options are:
Applicants rank their program choices in order of interest as part of the application, so it’s worth reading through both groups’ focus areas before you apply.
To apply, students must meet WYSE’s grade and location requirements:
WYSE doesn’t publish a formal acceptance rate for Young Scholars. The program’s FAQ states that in 2022 and 2023, roughly 30 lab spots drew upward of 600 applicants each year, landing selectivity somewhere near 5%.
Final cohort sizes give a fuller picture of how that’s played out in practice: 32 students presented research at the 2022 symposium, 24 in 2023 and 22 in 2025, according to WYSE’s symposium archives. Cohort size shifts from year to year depending on available lab space and mentor capacity, so applicants shouldn’t assume an identical number of spots each cycle.
WYSE opens the Young Scholars application process and application form on its website each cycle; students can join the WYSE summer programs mailing list to be notified as soon as it does. Per the Young Scholars FAQ, the application includes the following components:
WYSE also requires an educator to complete what it calls “a brief online recommendation form,” rather than a traditional mailed or emailed letter.
WYSE hasn’t yet posted a deadline for the next application cycle, but recent years offer a reliable pattern. Using 2026 as the reference year:
Applications are typically reviewed through the spring, with most families hearing back — acceptance, waitlist or otherwise — within about six weeks of the priority deadline.
WYSE picks up the tab for everything except travel. Students receive on-campus housing and meals at no charge, on top of a stipend, with housing specifically set aside for non local applicants outside the Champaign-Urbana area; families only need to budget for getting to and from campus.
A few practical steps can make a WYSE Young Scholars application stronger:
For eligible students, WYSE Young Scholars offers a no-cost way to spend six weeks doing university-level research with housing covered — a combination that’s uncommon among selective summer programs. The clearest trade-offs are the seven-state eligibility limit and the full-time, six-week commitment, which can rule out other students who need summer flexibility for obligations like a job or a family commitment.
The program’s weekly seminars do touch on the college admissions process, but that shouldn’t be mistaken for a promise about outcomes. No summer research program, including this one, can guarantee an admissions result — the value of the program lies in the research experience and mentorship, not in any downstream effect on a college application.
WYSE Young Scholars is built around the idea that a meaningful research experience in a safe environment shouldn’t be limited by a family’s ability to pay for it. For students in the seven eligible states, that access — combined with genuine mentorship and a defined research group — makes it one of the more distinctive free options for families weighing their choices; see our guide to the best summer STEM programs for more.
Families outside WYSE’s seven-state footprint, or students who simply want to compare options, have plenty of other university-based research opportunities to weigh, including several research programs you can do online for students who aren’t near Champaign-Urbana. Our guide to college-based research programs for high school students breaks many of these down by field and format.
A few worth reviewing alongside WYSE: Carnegie Mellon SAMS, a fully funded residential program most accessible to students near Pittsburgh; the Garcia Summer Research Program, a tuition-free research opportunity at Stony Brook University; and the Simons Summer Research Program, another selective, cost-free option based at Stony Brook. For a broader list of options across STEMM fields, see our roundup of science summer programs for high school students.
Yes. The only expense families cover is getting to and from campus; WYSE takes care of housing, meals, and a stipend for every accepted student.
Rising 10th, 11th and 12th graders from seven states can apply: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Iowa and Wisconsin. Students outside these states aren’t eligible, regardless of academic background or interest.
Yes, for non-local students. WYSE provides on-campus housing and meals for accepted students, with a residential move-in in mid-June; students who live near Champaign-Urbana may choose to commute instead.
Yes. Teachers can apply separately from their students to serve as a co-researcher or mentor. WYSE makes an effort to keep a student and their own teacher on the same team, but it isn’t guaranteed, and neither application depends on the other person applying too.
Young Scholars can expect about 30 to 35 hours a week split between their research and structured skill-building sessions, across the program’s six-week duration.
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 problems, while earning college credits from UNC-Chapel Hill.
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