Data Science Institute Summer Lab

The Data Science Institute Summer Lab (DSI Summer Lab) is a paid summer research program at the University of Chicago for undergraduates and Chicago-area high school students. Each participant is paired with a data science mentor and works on a research project in a field such as computer science, social science, climate and energy policy, public policy, materials science, or biomedical research. The program lasts eight weeks and takes place in person on the UChicago Hyde Park campus. The 2026 program ran from June 15 to August 7, 2026. The 2027 program is scheduled for June 14 to August 6, 2027. Students are expected to work a full-time schedule, 9am to 5pm, each week. The stipend for the 2027 program is $5,600. High school students arrange their own housing and transportation. The summer ends with a symposium where students present final videos on their research.

Open to undergraduates and high school students; high school applicants must live in the Chicago area year-round and be able to commute to campus. Current seniors starting college in the fall apply as high school applicants. No prior research experience is required, but applicants should have some familiarity with at least one programming language. The 2026 application asked for a resume, a research interest statement, a technical skills self-evaluation, a personal statement, an internship goals essay, and a project description, plus an optional work sample link and an optional recommendation letter. The 2026 deadline was January 12, 2026.