Berkeley Lab Director's Apprenticeship Program (BLDAP)

The Berkeley Lab Director's Apprenticeship Program (BLDAP) is a paid, project-based summer STEM program at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for Bay Area public high school sophomores and juniors. It is run through Berkeley Lab's A-LIFT pre-college programs, and the 2026 theme was Interdisciplinary Pathways to Machine Learning and Data Science. Apprentices work on hands-on projects, take a computer science short course, and meet weekly with STEM professionals. In 2026 the curriculum included an introduction to Python, data science, and a set of scientific projects and bioscience experiments, and every participant gave a final presentation. Along the way, students get college and career guidance and build research skills such as problem-solving, communication, and collaboration. The 2026 session ran from June 16 to July 24, six weeks in total, with students attending in person at least four days a week. It is a non-residential program, so participants commute to the lab each day. In 2026 apprentices were paid $500 per week. Students who complete the summer can continue with short courses, workshops, and seminars at Berkeley Lab during the following fall and spring, and those in good standing before the next summer are invited to a traditional laboratory internship.

Open to public high school students in 10th or 11th grade at the time of applying who attend school in Alameda, Contra Costa, or San Francisco County. Applicants must be full-time California residents, US citizens or permanent residents, and at least 16 by the program start date (June 16 for 2026); out-of-state students are not accepted. Participants must commute to Berkeley Lab in person on weekdays for six weeks. The application is an online form with two short essay questions and one recommendation from a science, math or technology teacher or STEM mentor.