Apply for Project SEED Summer Program

• All students under 18 must receive the expressed permission of a parent or guardian.
  
• Your family's annual income must not exceed 300% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines based on family size.  Below is a table of those figures for 2023.  Students will have to provide documentation to verify household annual income for 2021 or 2022.  Please visit the Federal Poverty Guidelines website to see guidelines for Alaska and Hawaii.
  

• NEW! Methods of Demonstrating Eligibility: Students must provide one of the following to demonstrate financial eligibility
  
  • A copy of a 1040 tax form showing that the annual adjusted gross income within the last 2 years has been 300% or less of the federal poverty guideline for household size
  • Documentation showing that the student is eligible for Free and Reduced Lunch Program (FRPL) at his/her/their school
    
  • Documentation showing that the family is eligible for Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, SNAP, or WIC for Infants and Children (also referred to as EBT or food stamps)
  • Documentation showing participation in a TRIO program such as Upward Bound or other programs geared towards socioeconomically challenged families
  • Documentation showing eligibility for SAT/ACT fee waiver
• Preferably a current high school sophomore, junior or senior (2024 high school graduates are eligible). 
  
• Must have completed at least one course of high school chemistry.
• Must demonstrate an interest in science and/or chemistry.

• Students must be eligible and provide documentation to demonstrate financial eligibility (see eligibility criteria above)
• Site coordinators and mentors will review student applications and may select participants based on
  • Competitive academic performance
  • Level of expressed interest in science
  • Availability for the duration of the summer program (minimum competing summer activities)
  • Students with prior lab experience ideal, but not required
  • Number of student slots allocated to the site and budget
  • Please note that final selection to a site is based solely on the coordinators discretion 

Types of SEED Programs

Project SEED In-Person Research is a paid, summer fellowship program for high school students.  Once accepted, students commute daily to a  research lab (typically about 8 hours per weekday, Monday through Friday) for anywhere from 8 to 10 weeks.  Students do meaningful research - meaning you won't just wash lab dishes, or press a button on a machine all day.  You get to work on a project independently or with other students, and write a report or prepare a poster at the end of the summer.  Depending on the Project SEED site, there may be additional activities, such as field trips and campus tours, career panels, participation in poster/science fair competitions, and more!  Some coordinators choose to register their students for the American Chemical Society National Meeting to present their poster to thousands of attendees.

• Summer I Program
  The Summer I program is for first-time Project SEED participants who are given a scientific research project in chemistry or a related field under the direct supervision of a scientist-mentor. Students receive a $4,000 fellowship award/stipend.
• Summer II Program
  The Summer II program provides Project SEED Summer I students with an additional summer (or two) of scientific research. Students either continue their research from the previous summer or begin a new research project. These students receive a $4,000 fellowship award. Summer II students may be eligible for a travel grant to present their research at ACS meetings or other scientific meetings.

Project SEED Scholarships

Students that successfully complete the 8-10 week Project SEED summer experience and decide to study chemistry and STEM-related majors (especially chemistry, chemical engineering, biochemistry, or materials science) in college are eligible to compete for Project SEED scholarships.  Scholarships range from 1 to 4 years of up to $5,000 awarded each academic year.