| Application deadline | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site | January 20, 2027 (2027 cycle) |
|---|
| Cost | Catalog terms: Free attendance; check separate expenses; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): $5,518; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site |
|---|
| Financial aid | Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): 2026 need-based application and program assistance: Up to $5,564. Could assist with the $46 application fee and $5,518 program cost based on family income, family size and available funds; actual award not guaranteed.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site |
|---|
| Expenses and aid conditions | Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): 2026 COSMOS application fee: $46. Nonrefundable; pending fee-waiver review could change when or whether payment was required.; Credit-card transaction fee on program payments: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Approximately 2.5% when paying program costs by credit card; application fee exempt.; 2026 need-based application and program assistance: Up to $5,564. Could assist with the $46 application fee and $5,518 program cost based on family income, family size and available funds; actual award not guaranteed.; Full-financial-aid attendance deposit: $200. Required only for admitted students offered full aid and refunded to the legal guardian after successful completion.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): Daily transportation reimbursement: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Broad promises partial reimbursement but does not publish limits or eligible modes.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
|---|
| Stipend or pay | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): 2026 scholar stipend: $3,600; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
|---|
| Eligibility | Grades 10–11 when applying; summer rising grade is one higher | Grades 9–12 (provider uses rising grades) | Grade 11; Grade timing: Unconfirmed — check official site |
|---|
| Additional eligibility | Minimum age 16; Citizenship: Students age 18 at the workshop start had to be U.S. citizens for the 2026 cycle; Citizenship: All applicants had to meet LLNL access restrictions under 2025 NDAA Section 3112; current official review controls; Residency: Attend a Northern California public, charter, private, or home school; Requirement: Be at least 16 by the first workshop day; Requirement: Enter grade 11 or 12 in fall 2026; Requirement: Have at least a 3.3 cumulative GPA; Requirement: Have at least a 3.5 science GPA; Requirement: Complete Biology and Chemistry or Integrated Science Series I and II by the end of the current school year; Requirement: Qualify for access to the Laboratory's non-public areas; Requirement: Attend every weekday and provide daily transportation, lunch, and a laptop; Exclusion: Students entering grade 10 in the cited cycle; Exclusion: Students younger than 16 at the start; Exclusion: Students outside the Northern California school requirement; Exclusion: Students age 18 at the start who were not U.S. citizens; Exclusion: Applicants who cannot obtain access under current national-security law and LLNL screening; Exclusion: Assuming legal permanent residence alone replaces the specific age-18 citizenship rule; Exclusion: Assuming the 2026 GPA, citizenship, school, or NDAA rules will remain unchanged in a later cycle | Residency: Attend high school in person in California; Requirement: Be rising into grade 9, 10, 11 or 12 for the program fall year; Requirement: Attend high school in person in California; Requirement: Demonstrate academic excellence and preparation for the selected STEM cluster; Requirement: Complete cluster-specific course prerequisites; Requirement: Live on the host UC campus for the full program; Requirement: Be a first-time COSMOS participant; Exclusion: Students not attending a California high school in person; Exclusion: Students who previously attended any COSMOS program; Exclusion: Applicants outside the rising-grade 9-12 range; Exclusion: Applicants unable to live on campus for the full program; Exclusion: Late application, supporting, payment or admission materials; Exclusion: Assuming a 3.5 GPA is an absolute statewide minimum rather than the published typical profile | Citizenship: U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or non-U.S. citizen with employment authorization; Residency: Must attend a Massachusetts high school within daily commuting distance of Broad; Requirement: Apply as a current high-school junior/rising senior; Requirement: Earn B or better grades in science and mathematics; Requirement: Show enthusiasm for science; prior research is not required; Requirement: Attend the entire six-week program without other courses, programs, or employment during program hours; Exclusion: Out-of-state high-school students are ineligible even if they can commute or arrange housing; Exclusion: Students unable to attend every program day are ineligible |
|---|
| Session dates or duration | Last year's cycle (2026): Starts July 13, 2026; Ends July 24, 2026; 2 weeks; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Catalog terms: 4 weeks; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Catalog terms: 6 weeks; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
|---|
| Format | In person | In person | In person |
|---|
| Housing and supervision | Non-residential. Supervision and housing details: Unconfirmed — check official site | Residential. Supervision and housing details: Unconfirmed — check official site | Non-residential. Supervision and housing details: Unconfirmed — check official site |
|---|
| Location | Livermore, California, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory non-public workshop areas | Davis, California, Irvine, California, Los Angeles, California, Merced, California, San Diego, California, Santa Cruz, California, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UCLA, UC Merced, UC San Diego, UC Santa Cruz | Cambridge, Massachusetts, Broad Institute; daily commute required from a Massachusetts high school community |
|---|
| Selection and application | Selection: Applications are competitive and space is limited; LLNL publishes no acceptance rate or guaranteed cohort size on the official page. Application materials: Biology or Chemistry teacher contact information for one recommendation | Selection: Each of six campuses accommodates roughly 160-200 students, and clusters typically enroll 20-25 with a commonly reported 5:1 student-to-faculty ratio. Admissions are competitive and based on academic merit relative to the selected topic, but applicant count and statewide acceptance rate were not published. Application materials: One personal statement; One required teacher recommendation, with two recommended | Selection: Applications receive holistic merit review based on coursework, extracurricular interests, science enthusiasm, teacher recommendations, and potential community contribution. Broad publishes recent cohort names but no current applicant count or acceptance rate. Application materials: Teacher recommendation material; the FAQ does not state the number |
|---|
| Official sources | Source 1 · checked 2026-08-20 | Source 1 · checked 2026-08-22Source 2 · checked 2026-08-22Source 3 · checked 2026-08-22Source 4 · checked 2026-08-22Source 5 · checked 2026-08-22Source 6 · checked 2026-08-22Source 7 · checked 2026-08-20 | Source 1 · checked 2026-10-09Source 2 · checked 2026-08-21 |
|---|