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What is SIP?
The Science Internship Program (SIP) offers high school students the opportunity to spend their summer working on authentic open-ended research projects in science, engineering, social sciences, humanities, and art under the mentorship of UCSC researchers.
Stay informed about SIP 2025! Click here to sign up for our mailing list and receive updates, important dates, and program information.
SIP 2025 Schedule Overview
Overall Format: 1 week of online research and 7 weeks of in-person research (8 weeks total)
Week 1 (June 16–20, 2025; 1 week): Online research week
SIP 2025 Kickoff: Sunday, June 22, 2025 / 2:00–4:00 PM PDT (in-person)
Weeks 2–8 (June 23–August 8, 2025; 7 weeks): In-person research weeks
Presentation Day: Saturday, August 9, 2025 / 8:30 AM–2:30 PM PDT (hybrid: in-person and online)
*Please note: UC Santa Cruz and SIP will be closed on Thursday, June 19, 2025 in observance of the Juneteenth holiday, and Friday, July 4, 2025 in observance of US Independence Day.
Intern Information
The SIP 2025 Intern application will open on February 1, 2025
Visit the Application Process page for more details about our application.
Mentor Information
The SIP 2025 mentor application will open on January 1, 2025
For more information about becoming a SIP mentor, visit our Mentor FAQ page to apply.
SIP Testimonials
Browse Research Projects from Previous Years
Find out more about CrEST
The Science Internship Program works hard to provide opportunities for all students to participate in the program and makes an intentional effort to recruit students from historically excluded backgrounds. Creating Equity in STEAM (CrEST) is the new initiative we have launched to strengthen the focus on these efforts across all of the programs SIP is connected to.
Record Number of SIP Alumni Participate in “the Super Bowl of Astronomy Conferences”
In January of 2021, 34 SIP alumni (as well as 4 SIP-STAR fellows from 2020) were featured as lead authors or coauthors on a cumulative total of 16 virtual poster presentations at the 237th meeting of the American Astronomical Society.