The Summer Research Academies provides a stimulating summer program for eligible high school students. The program is offered by the University of California, Santa Barbara. Is designed to introduce students to the research process in STEM, Humanities, and Social Sciences fields.
Students enroll in a university course worth 4 units, where they have the opportunity to select and develop a research topic under the guidance of an instructor. Students will get the opportunity to enhance their academic and professional skills by presenting their research findings in a capstone seminar, networking with peers, and gaining valuable experience in a challenging university environment.
The students have to choose any one of these tracks before they apply for the program:
Track Descriptions
Track 1: Divergent Minds & Neurotribes – An Exploration of the Neuropsychological Link Between Genius and Disorder
This course will focus on exploring the strengths and challenges of the neurodivergent population, the mental health of neurodiverse individuals, the development of individuals with Autism over their lifetime, and the existing psychological, behavioral, and medical interventions available. Using SPSS and R data analysis tools, students will conduct research that will contribute to ongoing discussions on how to effectively bridge the gap between neurotypical and neurodiverse communities in our society.
Track 2: Invisible Influences – Decoding Culture and the Ideological Power of Media
This course includes units organized across various analytical frameworks such as feminist theory and critical race theory and it challenges students to consider the function of culture while cultivating their media literacy and critical thinking skills to reorient their perception of the world around them.
Track 3: Light and Matter – Exploring the Quantum World, from Atoms to Applications
Through this course, students explore and study quantum physics and examine subjects such as solid-state physics, nano-electronic devices, optoelectronics, and semiconductor manufacturing that underpin the classical applications of quantum physics. Using hands-on quantum optics experiments, they investigate concepts such as superposition, entanglement, and projective measurements that underlie the current research in quantum information technologies. Students research and learn how seemingly tangential quantum effects can be harnessed to enable novel technologies.
Track 4: Moral Mining – Using Big Data to Investigate Polarization and Moral Depictions
During this course, students build skills in Python programming for data acquisition, data cleaning and processing, statistical analysis, and visualization. They apply a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches in the emerging field of moral science through data science. They will also learn state-of-the-art moral mining tools using computational methods and will be presented with current studies on the future of moral effects, which utilize conventional survey-based measures, socio-political indicators online, as well as neurobiological and physiological correlates.
Track 5: Tipping the Scales – Confronting Legal Precedents of Landmark US Supreme Court Cases
In this course, students will learn a range of methodologies for interpreting the Constitution and making judicial decisions. They will debate about judicial authority and analyze pivotal Supreme Court cases. Students will research and use an interdisciplinary approach to analyze the most pressing and consequential constitutional law questions today.
Track 6: Decoding the Black Box – Building Trustworthy Machine Learning Models for the Physical World
This course will focus on the fundamentals of ML and how can be implemented in emerging fields such as additive manufacturing, materials discovery, non-destructive evaluation, and autonomous experimentation. The students will build their own deep learning model from scratch and explore the endless possibilities of ML.
Track 7: Pain and Prejudice – The Role of Discrimination in Generating Disparities in Health
Students in this track will use Stata to develop skills in data processing and visualization. They will learn how experiences of discrimination—at both the structural and individual levels—negatively affect health outcomes through pathways such as psychological stress, differential access to healthcare resources, and intergenerational transmission of trauma.
Track 8: Model Behavior – Using Animal Models to Understand Maladaptive Decision-Making
Students will learn how to interpret and analyze data from animal behavioral paradigms to investigate how neuropsychiatric disorders influence decision-making. Students will understand how immunohistology and microscopy techniques are used to observe changes in biological markers of neuronal cell activity. During their coursework, students will explore cutting-edge techniques, like optogenetics and DREADDs, that neuroscientists use to answer questions about decision-making.
Track 9: Chasing the Cosmos – A Dive Into Space Exploration and its Legacies for the Future
Students will analyze primary sources including technical reports, congressional documents, newspapers, correspondence, and more to examine the history of space exploration and craft original arguments framed by literature from historians, journalists, scientists, and engineers.
Track 10: Diagnostic AI – Transforming Healthcare Using Image Processing and Learning from Biomedical Images
Students will learn the mathematical tools and concepts of feature extractions, image registration, segmentation, and classification to analyze images ranging from molecular/cellular imaging to tissue/organ imaging. They will also learn image processing, enhancement, visualization, and advanced deep-learning methods for real-world problems such as brain tumor study, cell counting in cancer, and much more.
Eligibility
Advanced 9th graders and qualified students in 10th and 11th grades with a 3.6 (weighted, UC a–g requirements) are eligible for the program.
The online application includes:
High School Transcript
Personal Statement – In a 500 word maximum essay, please tell us why you want to participate in SRA, the reason you selected a particular research track(s), and something unique about you that you’d like the admissions committee to know.
Short Responses –
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Briefly share what you specifically hope to learn from the track(s) you have chosen.
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What skills, interests, or talents do you possess that will enable you to succeed in the chosen track(s)?
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Create a hashtag describing you and/or your life and elaborate on why you chose it.
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Cost of Attendance: The student can choose the commuter or the residential program:
Commuter Option:
$75 Application Fee (non-refundable)
$200 Enrollment Deposit (non-refundable; applied to the Tuition and Program Fees)
$2,300 Tuition and Program Fees
Residential Option:
$75 Application Fee (non-refundable)
$200 Enrollment Deposit (non-refundable; applied to the Tuition and Program Fees)
$2,300 Tuition and Program Fees
$5,399 Housing and Meal Fees
In conclusion, the Summer Research Academies program offered by UC Santa Barbara is a fantastic opportunity for eligible high school students to gain valuable research experience in STEM, Humanities, and Social Sciences fields. Through project-based, directed research, students will develop their academic and professional skills, as well as gain exposure to university life in a challenging environment.
We can help you with your SRA application process. Working with study abroad consultants, overseas education consultants, or, as more commonly known, college counsellors, can help you plan ahead and make those high school years count. Ivy Central offers exceptional focus to help you prepare for college admissions throughout the high-schooling years. Start today!
