Research Mentorship Program (RMP)

The Research Mentorship Program (RMP) at UC Santa Barbara is a competitive summer research program for high-achieving high school students from around the world. Each student is paired with a UC Santa Barbara mentor, who may be a graduate student, postdoc or faculty member, and picks a research project from a list of disciplines that changes every summer. Research areas have included biology, chemistry and engineering as well as psychology, history, economics and computer science. The 2027 program starts June 14, 2027, with a virtual component from June 14 to June 16, followed by six weeks of in-person research on campus in Santa Barbara, California. Students spend 35 to 50 hours a week on research, write a technical research paper, present at an academic symposium and earn 8 university credits. For 2026, the program cost $5,675 for commuters and $13,274 for residential students, including the application fee. A limited number of need-based scholarships are available, with priority for California residents.

Open to high school students in 10th or 11th grade, with outstanding 9th graders considered case by case, who have a weighted academic GPA of at least 3.80. Students must attend the full program, from the virtual component through closing events, and cannot take other courses or programs at the same time. The application asks for a high school transcript (including fall semester or trimester grades), a personal statement of up to 500 words proposing a research question, a writing sample of up to 3 pages, short responses of up to 150 words each, optional AP scores, and a $75 application fee, which is included in the program cost. TOEFL scores are not required for international applicants. The 2027 application window runs from December 15, 2026 to March 8, 2027, and admission decisions are made on a rolling basis.