Summer 2026

The dates for the 2026 Junior Fellow program will be announced in the fall. If you have any questions, please reach out to scienceresearch@wesleyan.edu.

Students in the junior fellow program work in faculty labs over the summer, interacting with graduate and undergraduate students as well as their faculty mentors. They may develop projects and complete research that can be presented at science fairs and conferences on and off campus. Outside of their research, students attend lectures and workshops presented by the CIS Research in Science summer program. The students may also attend lab meetings that include presentations by graduate and undergraduate students. Lab workers keep up with current articles in related research publications and students have access to the university libraries and facilities. Our junior fellows learn valuable techniques and gain exceptional experience. They've gone on to study at colleges across the country, including Wesleyan. 

 

  • Eligibility
    High school juniors, seniors, and recent graduates are eligible to apply. Students must be at least sixteen years old. They should live in Middletown or the surrounding area and must organize their own transportation.
  • Program Parameters

    The Junior Fellow summer research program is expected to run from June 16 to July 25, 2025.

    Junior fellows will be assigned to a faculty lab and gain access to the Wesleyan science complex, libraries, and campus events related to the Research in Science summer program. High school students are not authorized to work in the lab or with any scientific equipment while unsupervised. Fellows will determine a schedule with their faculty and student mentors. At a minimum they should expect to shadow a research fellow and attend lab meetings, weekly lectures, and the final poster session. They will also be expected to attend one workshop specific to the Junior Fellow program per week. 

  • Application
    The Summer 2026 application will open in January 2026. If you have any questions, please reach out to scienceresearch@wesleyan.edu.
  • History

    In late 2009, a joint educational initiative was started between members of the Wesleyan University faculty in the natural science and mathematics departments and several of the science-math teachers at Middletown High School. The goal was to create a partnership to create opportunities for high school juniors and seniors to attend lectures and to do research in Wesleyan's labs over the summer. This collaborative program was intended to extend the educational opportunities of the Middletown high school students, and to leverage the impact of the research programs at Wesleyan. Over the years the program has facilitated the integration of a select, but growing number of high school students into Wesleyan research labs.

    The Wes-MHS Collaborative ran from 2009 to 2018. In 2023 it was revived by the College of Integrative Sciences and now extends to students from all high schools in the community.

Summer 2025 Recap

In Summer 2025, twelve junior fellows were members of nine different labs and conducted research in biology, chemistry, computer science, earth and environmental science, molecular biology and biochemistry, and physics. Five additional students completed research modules covering topics in astronomy, bioengineering, psychology, education studies, environmental studies, and artificial intelligence. In addition to their lab work, the students attended journal clubs, lectures, and workshops, and had access to Wesleyan collections and facilities.

Below are posters the fellows presented during the final Symposium:

Fellow

Research

Mentor
Nora Elnemr

Machine Learning-Driven Identification of p53 Wildtype and Y220C-Mutated Conformational States

 Thayer (CIS, Biophysics)

 Serena Evans

 Nanomaterials for Water Remediation: From Synthesis to Characterization Gonzalez-Pech (Chemistry)

Katie Ford and Alessandra Sticca

 Copper Padilla-Benavides (CIS, MB&B)

Kaylin Maher (Wes '26) and Srikari Kurada

Roles of H2A.Z and H1 in Chromosome Segregation and Condensation

 Holmes (MB&B, CIS)

Marwa Mir

Education Access and Mental Health Outcomes for Girls in Afghanistan

 Dane (CIS)

Chinua Nwafor

 Solar Cell Characteristics: An SEM Insight

 Sher (Physics, CIS, Environmental Studies)

Lucia Perez

Finding the Invisible: The Search for Dark Matter

 Wesleyan Astronomy Department
Achintya Srinivasan Summer in the Lab: Learning to Process Clusters of Metal Oxide Nanoparticles Formed Under Varying Conditions Gonzalez-Pech (Chemistry)

Zora Wood-Nangombe

Saving the Wesleyan Bees

 Beaver, Wes '26

 

Summer 2024 Recap

Eight students participated in the Summer 2024 Junior Fellow program. They were members of seven different labs and conducted research in astronomy, chemistry, computer science, earth and environmental science, and molecular biology and biochemistry. In addition to their lab work, the students attended workshops, field trips, and tours of Wesleyan collections and facilities. Three of the junior fellows presented posters during the Summer Science Symposium on the final day of the program and one was a Teaching Assistant for the Girls in Science summer camp.