| Application deadline | February 12, 2027 (2027 cycle) | January 22, 2027 (2027 cycle) |
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| Cost | $600 (2027 cycle) | Catalog terms: Free attendance; check separate expenses; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Financial aid | 2027 need-based scholar-fee waiver: $0–$600. Limited waivers may be requested by students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch who do not have a sponsor. (2027 cycle) | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Expenses and aid conditions | 2027 need-based scholar-fee waiver: $0–$600. Limited waivers may be requested by students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch who do not have a sponsor. (2027 cycle) | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Stipend or pay | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Eligibility | Grade 10; Grade timing: Unconfirmed — check official site | Grade 11 when applying; summer rising grade is one higher |
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| Additional eligibility | Residency: Missouri resident attending high school in Missouri or homeschooled in Missouri; Requirement: Be a current tenth grader during nomination for summer participation as a rising junior; Requirement: Receive a nomination from a counselor, teacher, principal, or other school official, except eligible homeschool self/family nomination; Requirement: Fit within the school's MSA nomination allotment; Requirement: Provide three-semester unweighted GPA and an accepted standardized aptitude or IQ score; Requirement: Demonstrate leadership, creativity, intellectual curiosity, problem solving, initiative, and likely benefit; Requirement: Commit to the full three-week residential Academy without planned absence; Exclusion: Students and families may not self-nominate outside homeschool settings; Exclusion: Incomplete nominations are not considered; Exclusion: Parents and guardians cannot write recommendation letters; Exclusion: MSA provides neither grades nor academic credit; Exclusion: Nomination does not guarantee selection, course choice, roommate choice, fee waiver, college scholarship, or admission advantage | Minimum age 16; Citizenship: U.S. citizen or national, or otherwise eligible to work in the United States; Residency: Intended for North Texas high-school students; exact county, school, commute, or Texas-residence boundary is not published on the current page; Requirement: Be currently enrolled in high school and classified as a junior at application; Requirement: Be at least 16 years old by June 1 before the summer program; Requirement: Be a U.S. citizen or national or otherwise eligible to work in the United States; Requirement: Have no prior research experience under the program's controlling definition; Requirement: Demonstrate strong academic achievement and interest in science or medicine; Requirement: Be able to commute reliably to UT Southwestern for the entire eight-week, nonresidential program; Requirement: Work safely and professionally in an assigned biomedical research laboratory with a faculty host; Requirement: Complete employment or stipend onboarding, minor consent, health, immunization, safety, conduct, privacy, data, intellectual-property, and laboratory requirements; Requirement: Present research results at the end of the summer and present the experience at the student's home school; Exclusion: Students who are not current high-school juniors; Exclusion: Applicants who will be younger than 16 on June 1; Exclusion: Applicants who cannot demonstrate U.S. citizenship, nationality, or legal work eligibility; Exclusion: Students with prior research experience under STARS policy; Exclusion: Applicants seeking clinical care, patient contact, physician shadowing, or a residential program; Exclusion: Inability to attend the full eight weeks or commute safely and reliably to the assigned Dallas laboratory; Exclusion: Assuming strong grades, interest, North Texas residence, or an early application guarantees a funded place |
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| Session dates or duration | Starts June 13, 2027; Ends July 3, 2027; 3 weeks (2027 cycle) | Catalog terms: 8 weeks; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Format | In person | In person |
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| Housing and supervision | Residential. Supervision and housing details: Unconfirmed — check official site | Non-residential. Supervision and housing details: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Location | Columbia | Dallas, Texas, UT Southwestern biomedical research laboratories; North Texas applicant focus; nonresidential |
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| Selection and application | Selection: School nomination allotments limit the pool, a statewide committee evaluates academic and qualitative criteria, and about 330 scholars are expected in 2027. MSA does not publish a current nomination count or acceptance rate. Application materials: Two PDF recommendation letters, at least one from a teacher and none from parents or guardians; Two named PDF essays of 300-350 words responding to the current character-identification and social-issue prompts | Selection: Participation is limited by funding. UT Southwestern names superior academic achievement and strong science or medicine interest as positive factors but does not publish the current applicant count, funded places, acceptance rate, GPA cutoff, review rubric, lab-match method, or waitlist policy. Application materials: Transcript, essays, activity list, resume, teacher or counselor information, recommendation, or interview only if the new application explicitly requires them |
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| Official sources | Source 1 · checked 2026-10-12Source 2 · checked 2026-08-22Source 3 · checked 2026-08-22Source 4 · checked 2026-08-22Source 5 · checked 2026-08-20 | Source 1 · checked 2026-10-09Source 2 · checked 2026-08-20 |
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