Please review this page and the application instructions before applying to the 2025 Young Researchers summer program.
Applications for the 2025 cycle are now open! Due to a high number of applicants, emails will not be sent to those not accepted.
Important Dates
Application Open: January 17, 2025
Application Deadline: March 31, 2025 11:59pm PST.
Student Orientation: June 13, 2025
Program Dates: June 16 – July 25, 2025
Poster Symposium: July 25, 2025
The application deadline for this year’s program is March 31, 2025. Exceptions to this deadline are rare. We will do our best to accommodate your application depending on the circumstances.
Offers will be sent out by late April. Unfortunately, due to the high volume of applications, we cannot provide specific reasons why an application was not accepted.
Application Details
The application is an electronic form that can be completed and submitted online. However, if you do not have regular access to a computer please contact us for other options. See below for application instructions, tips, and the link to apply.
Please note that the Young Researchers Program is only for high school rising senior students in the Los Angeles, Lynwood, Compton, or Inglewood Unified School Districts (charter schools okay!). Unfortunately, we are not able to accept applications from students who reside outside of these districts.
Determine your eligibility
1. Are you a rising high school senior (currently a junior)?
2. Do you live in Los Angeles and attend a public high school in the Los Angeles, Lynwood, Compton, or Inglewood Unified School Districts (including charter schools)?
3. Are you able to commit at least 15 hours per week for six weeks to a research project at USC, plus two field trips and weekly seminars?
4. Have you been vaccinated for Measles and Covid-19 (2 doses)?
If yes to all of these, you are eligible to apply!
Application Instructions
Before you apply, please read the application instructions and tips in full by clicking on the link below. Please note that we require one letter of recommendation to be submitted with your application. This letter we be submitted by your recommender, however it is YOUR responsibility to follow up with your letter writer and ensure their letter is submitted by April 15, 2025 at 11:59pm PST.
Click here for application instructions.
Contact Us
YRP Team
YRP’s Poster Symposium
High school students and their graduate student mentors gather around for the final poster symposium. The poster symposium allows high school students to show off their hard work during the summer, by presenting their summer research posters to USC faculty, mentors and their family. We are incredibly proud of each cohort’s poster presentations and look forward to the upcoming cohorts progress!
USC’s Young Researchers Program