Host Campuses

Summer Science Program is operated by an independent 501c3 nonprofit, and the following host our programs on their campuses:

Affiliations

California Institute of Technology

Caltech is in Pasadena near Los Angeles, not far from the Jet Propulsion Lab it operates with NASA. Caltech’s affiliation with the Summer Science Program dates all the way back to it’s founding in 1958-9. Caltech’s President at the time, Dr. Lee DuBridge, donated astronomical equipment and recruited Caltech faculty to teach at Summer Science Program and chair its Executive Committee. Caltech even served as the first legal “parent” of Summer Science Program, four decades before it became an independent nonprofit.

And the connection has continued ever since. Numerous Caltech faculty have lectured at Summer Science Program, including Astronomer Maarten Schmidt (33 times), Physicist David Politzer (9 times) and the fondly remembered Richard Feynman (9 times).

Caltech is a small school, but over 200 Summer Science Program alumni have gone on to enroll there as undergrads, second only to (the much larger) MIT.

"Caltech is looking for students who are passionate about STEM and have showcased a clear alignment with our research mission to 'expand human knowledge and benefit society through research.' SSP is a great program that will help prospective students take that step to immerse themselves in research while exploring their STEM passions."

Harvey Mudd College

Summer Science Program’s ties with Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California go back to the 1960s, when HMC helped to operate and fund Summer Science Program in an informal consortium with Caltech, Pomona College, and Thacher School (the original host campus). Over the decades, dozens of Summer Science program alumni have enrolled there, in part because of cultural compatibility; while small for a college, Harvey Mudd is in many ways a larger version of Summer Science Program. In 2017 Harvey Mudd returned to a direct relationship as Summer Science Program’s “academic partner,” incorporating several areas of cooperation.

"Harvey Mudd College has admired the SSP program from the very beginning. Our relationship with SSP began with the very founding of the college. It can be a wonderful experience filled with new discoveries (about science but perhaps also about oneself) and can lead to life-long friendships. The rigorous but collaborative nature of the program is very similar to the experience our own students find. I recommend it highly."

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MIT is a long way from Summer Science Program’s original home in Southern California, but pparticipants have been enrolling there for decades … and teaching there too. Before Ed Bertschinger headed MIT’s Department of Physics, he was Summer Science Program class of ’75 and a Teaching Assistant from ’79 to ’82.

In recent years 10-20% of Summer Science Program alumni each fall choose to enroll at MIT for their undergraduate education. Others are there as grad students. Since 1959, MIT is the most frequent undergraduate destination of Summer Science Program alumni.

MIT lists Summer Science Program on its website as an affiliated summer program.