No ordinary summer job … the Summer Science Program is a unique opportunity to teach and mentor some of the most promising STEM students of their cohort in the world.
To work at SSP is to join a team of seven, leading 36 amazing young people through an intense and fully immersive university-level research project for six weeks. Living and working together on a university campus, you will dive into hands-on science in a supportive and close-knit community. It’s an experience that can’t be thoroughly captured in a written job description. It’s gratifying and fulfilling, but as with other unusually rewarding experiences in life, also challenging … and sometimes exhausting.
Compensation includes salary and all meals. For faculty not local to the assigned campus, we provide housing and travel. (While we try to accommodate family members and pets, our ability to do so is limited,)
"There is a beautiful freedom in working with talented students in the absence of grades or other distractions. Not being expected to know all the answers makes them willing to guess creatively and question how we know what we know. It is a joy to work with young people who are so excited to find experts who can answer their questions!"
Dr. Martha Oakley, Indiana University, SSP in Biochemistry Academic Director
"One of the things that drew me to SSP was seeing firsthand how everyone involved cares enough about each other to listen to understand, rather than just listening to respond, and that means a lot."
Laura Corley, Site Director and Campus Manager
Register for an upcoming summer employment webinar
(register for one, the content will be the same both sessions)
Two lecturing faculty on each campus are experienced and enthusiastic scientist / educators. They teach the theory and practice associated with the research project, dividing the material according to respective interests. Lecture outlines, homeworks, lab procedures, and other academic resources are provided. The pace is faster than most college courses. Some time is reserved for other topics of special interest to faculty.
The AD is the program lead and is responsible for supervising, mentoring, and evaluating four teaching assistant/residential mentors (TAs), being the point person on programmatic (academic and experimental) decisions, and delegating tasks as needed. Additionally, the AD is responsible for any pre- and post-programmatic requirements such as laboratory or project setup. To serve as an AD, at least one year of AAD experience is typically required.
The AD and AADs will work with the four TAs on the academic side of the SSP experience. SSP will provide lecture slides, lab slides, lab protocols, and the overall program schedule. The academic directors can and should optimize and customize these documents to match their style and specific campus needs. The AD and AADs will also attend weekly faculty meetings and contribute to the discussion of each participant’s academic growth/accomplishments. Outside of the summer requirements, the AD and AADs have a shared responsibility to complete letters of recommendation (when appropriate) for participants’ college applications. The AAD’s primary responsibility is to lead half of the lecture and laboratory sessions, with the AD leading the other half.
Job Duties:
Requirements:
Working Conditions:
Clearance Requirements:
The Site Director manages residential life (participant behavior, health, housing, dining) and logistics (facilities, field trips, special events), working closely with the other faculty and host campus personnel. Candidates should have 5+ years of experience working with high school students. The position is perfect for a teacher – especially a science or math teacher – seeking a change of pace and a chance to work outside of the classroom with extremely bright and motivated teens.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
Skills and Abilities:
Working Conditions:
The position is temporary full-time in-person with frequent weekend responsibilities and is required to be on on-call during evenings and nights. The position requires use of a computer and phone to organize residential life events, and to communicate with fellow faculty, participants, and parents. Director and weekly meetings are often held outside of typical work hours and local travel may be required to reach the meeting location
The working described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Clearance Requirements:
Teaching Assistant and Residential Mentors are tutors and instructors, assisting participants in using equipment and software, and with problem sets, under the direction of the Academic Director. Equally important is their simultaneous role as residential advisors and personal mentors, supervising participants and organizing recreational and social activities, under the direction of the Site Director.
Applicants should be rising college seniors, graduating seniors, or graduate students in a STEM field. Many TAs are SSP alumni but we also hire people new to SSP. For the Astrophysics project, programming experience is strongly preferred. For the Biochemistry project, wet lab experience is required.
2023 salary was $8,000 for an undergrad or new graduate in your first summer with us. Returning TAs earn more, as do those already in graduate school or with equivalent work experience.
In 2024, SSP plans to operate at least six programs on five campuses, possibly more. Dates for the 2024 programs are TBD but typically run from early June through the last week in July. In 2023 we operated the following programs:
Since 1959, hundreds of scientists have been associated with SSP as a student, faculty, or both, including George Abell (UCLA), Edmund Bertschinger (MIT), Ronald Irving (Univ. of Washington), Ed Krupp (Griffith Observatory), Jerry Nelson (UC Santa Cruz), Douglas Richstone (Univ. of Michigan), Thomas Steiman-Cameron (Indiana Univ.), Elizabeth Simmons (UC San Diego), Nicholas Suntzeff (Texas A&M), Robert Tarjan (Princeton), Alma Zook (Pomona), and many more.
"SSP has been a refreshing and satisfying teaching experience, working with some of the brightest young scientific minds out there! Their level of enthusiasm, curiosity, and engagement surpasses anything I have experienced teaching undergraduate college courses."
Dr. Mark Hall, Purdue University, SSP in Biochemistry Academic Director
"My summers with SSP were some of the best of my life, and I'm incredibly thankful to have had the opportunity to be a part of such an amazing program not once, but twice."
Rebecca Sellers, Teaching Assistant and Residential Mentor
“As an educator, it was my privilege to interact with such motivated, driven and capable participants. It is indeed the experience of a lifetime not just for the participants but also for the faculty.”
Sushma Bana, Site Director
The Summer Science Program is an independent non-profit 501(c)3, operated in cooperation with its host campuses and affiliates California Institute of Technology, Harvey Mudd College, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.