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Science Internship Program (SIP)

The Science Internship Program (SIP) is seeking graduate students, postdocs, research staff, and faculty to serve as mentors for high school students interested in engaging in existing research projects this summer. We have over 800 high-achieving students looking for placement. Please consider how you might include a pair of high school students in your summer research project. More information on the program is listed below.

• 2019 SIP program dates:

  • Sunday June 23, 2019 through Saturday, August 17, 2019

  • Sunday, June 23, 2019: Kickoff and orientation

  • Saturday, August 17, 2019: Presentation Day

• Mentors must be available for a minimum of 6 weeks to participate

• Ideally, please submit your research project(s) by: April 16th As soon as possible – contact us and we’ll help you formulate a project idea based on your current research.

• Mentor portal: Please visit the SIP mentor portal to submit your project for consideration for the 2019 SIP program. All 2019 SIP mentors will need to create a username and password to login (even if you were a SIP mentor in a previous summer). Please make sure to save your login credentials! If you cannot remember your login credentials, please use the “Forgot password” option in the mentor portal or contact us at ucsc-sip@ucsc.edu; please do not create a duplicate account.

• Number of interns: SIP mentors are expected to take on a minimum of two (2) high school SIP interns per research project. This will allow high school students to work collaboratively and problem-solve between themselves before bringing issues to their mentor. Feedback from past mentors indicates that having two interns reduces the pressure on the mentor to be the sole sounding board / point of contact.

• Mentor agreement form: After your SIP research project is approved, a personalized agreement will be emailed to you with your specific hiring information and stipend amount, as well as the mentor responsibilities associated with the mentor position.

• Live Scan requirement: In order to comply with UCSC’s rules for working with minors, non-faculty primary SIP mentors will be required to undergo a Live Scan involving fingerprinting and a background check. SIP will pay for these Live Scans. Returning SIP mentors from 2018 will likely not need an updated Live Scan.

• Tracking intern whereabouts: SIP mentors will be requested to assist the SIP staff in keeping track of their interns’ daily whereabouts (whether they working from campus, whether they took/will take the shuttle, whether they are in housing, etc.).

• Stipends: The stipends for 2019 will remain the same as before: a maximum of $3,500 for graduate students (up to a maximum of 100% summer salary in the combination of all UCSC summer appointments) and $2,000 for postdocs and research staff (in lieu of PTO). Questions about mentor stipends should be directed to SIP staff <ucsc-sip@ucsc.edu>.

• Your summer schedule: To submit a research project via the SIP mentor portal you will need to indicate your availability over the summer. SIP will run for 8 weeks this summer; interns and mentors must be available for a minimum of 6 weeks of full-time work. The primary method of mentoring should be in-person. This can be supplemented with remote mentoring (via email, video chats, etc.) to allow for some flexibility. Please input your summer schedule to the best of your knowledge. We will hold you to the research project schedule you submit. If anything changes and you are no longer available during a time you indicated the project is on, it is your responsibility to find a secondary mentor to supervise your interns on the research project in your absence.

• Under-resourced high school students: We are working hard to increase the diversity of the intern pool, and we expect a diverse intern pool again this year. In addition to building partnerships with specific local high schools and organizations that serve under-resourced student populations, we are planning to provide support during the summer program to support the student interns as they navigate the world of research. There will be an option for mentors to be included in these scaffolding opportunities on the mentor portal.

• Involving UCSC undergraduates: UCSC’s divisional deans are keen to see greater involvement of UCSC undergraduates in STEM research on campus. We are therefore asking all SIP mentors to please consider including an undergraduate student on the research project in addition to the high school interns. The undergraduate’s involvement in the research project could certainly extend into the academic year, not just the summer. It may also be possible for the undergraduate to serve as a secondary mentor.