Simons Summer Research Program

The Simons Summer Research Program (Simons SRP) at Stony Brook University is a summer research program for high school students who apply during 11th grade and take part the summer before senior year. Started in 1984 as outreach for local students, it now draws applicants from across the country and is supported by the Simons Foundation. Each Simons Fellow is matched with a Stony Brook faculty mentor in science, math or engineering, joins a research group, and takes responsibility for a project. Fellows also attend weekly faculty research talks, workshops and tours, then finish by writing a research abstract and presenting a poster at a closing symposium, where they receive a stipend award. The 2026 program ran June 29 to August 7. There is no tuition, but families pay for transportation and meals (commuters) or on-campus housing (residents). The program describes itself as highly selective, admitting about 5% or fewer of applicants.

Applicants must be in 11th grade when applying, be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, and be at least 16 by the first day, with no exceptions. Students need a nomination from their high school, which may nominate at most two students. The application asks for a transcript, two teacher recommendations (math or science preferred) and three preferred mentors; earlier research experience is not required. For the 2026 cycle, nominations were due January 30, applications February 5 and recommendations February 13. Applications for summer 2027 are expected to be posted in late November 2026.