Four Weeks of Hands-On Fun!

This past summer, twenty students from San Diego Unified high schools took part in a hands-on residential program called COSMOS – The California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science. They selected their cluster (area of focus) such as robotics, computer science and engineering, mechanical engineering, environmental science, lasers and light, renewable energy and synthetic biology. COSMOS students live on-campus for four weeks.

During the day, students worked with University of California faculty in labs to obtain first-hand experience in their cluster’s topic. In the evenings, students participated in talent shows, crafts, bonfires, games and more. COSMOS strives to strengthen not only a student’s academics in STEM, but their social-emotional growth as well. Students left the program with an experience of a lifetime, making friends from California and beyond, and networking with UC faculty and students.
The twenty students from La Jolla, Madison, Mission Bay, Morse, Point Loma, San Diego International Studies, Scripps Ranch, Serra, and University City High schools attended one of the four COSMOS sites – UC San Diego, UC Irvine, UC Santa Cruz or UC Davis. Each cluster has a Teacher Fellow (a high school STEM teacher) who works closely with the students and faculty in the lab and with scientific communication. This year a record six of the ten Teacher Fellows at UCSD were San Diego Unified teachers.
Applications for summer 2019 will open in January. To learn more about COSMOS and the clusters each site offers, visit their websites:

• UC Davis
• UC San Diego
• UC Irvine
• UC Santa Cruz

The mission of COSMOS is to motivate the most creative minds of the new generation of prospective scientists, engineers and mathematicians who will become leaders for California, the nation, and the world. The program aims to create a community of students who participate in and contribute to an intensive academic experience delivered by distinguished educators and scholars.