| Application deadline | Unconfirmed — check official site | April 1, 2027 (2027 cycle) | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Cost | Last year's cycle (2026): $2,500; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | $600 (2027 cycle) | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Financial aid | Last year's cycle (2026): Need-based scholarship after acceptance: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. First come until funds exhausted; next-cycle terms unknown.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Expenses and aid conditions | Last year's cycle (2026): Residence hall, meals, linens, laundry, and local program transport: $0. Included in 2026 attendance fee.; Travel to and from West Lafayette: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Participant responsibility, including optional airport shuttles.; Need-based scholarship after acceptance: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. First come until funds exhausted; next-cycle terms unknown.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Ohio State residence hall, linens, and supervision: $0. Included in the $600 fee.; Program meals: $0. Included in the $600 fee. (2027 cycle) | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Stipend or pay | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): 2026 internship stipend: $5,600; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Eligibility | Grade 12 (provider uses rising grades) | Grades 9–11 when applying; summer rising grade is one higher | Grades 9–12; Grade timing: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Additional eligibility | Requirement: Be a rising senior in the announced cohort; Requirement: Complete the future application with transcript and accepted standardized scores if still required; Requirement: Recommended for 2026: three high-school math years and one chemistry or physics year; Requirement: Be available for the full residential week; Requirement: Follow Purdue housing, supervision, health, safety, conduct, accessibility, team, media, and travel rules; Exclusion: Assuming 2026 terms recur; Exclusion: Treating recommended coursework as a guaranteed admission threshold; Exclusion: Missing the full session or required application documents; Exclusion: Assuming STEP guarantees Purdue, Engineering Honors, scholarship, credit, recommendation, award, or admission advantage | Residency: Ohio resident; Requirement: Be a current high-school freshman, sophomore, or junior; Requirement: Submit a teacher recommendation; Requirement: Show ability to work on a team and willingness to learn new STEM concepts; Requirement: Be available for the full residential session; Exclusion: Students outside Ohio are not eligible; Exclusion: Individualized scholarships are not available | Ages 15–18; Citizenship: U.S. citizen or permanent U.S. resident; Residency: Located in DC, Maryland, or Virginia within commuting distance of the museum for the full program; Requirement: Currently enrolled in high school at the time of application; Requirement: Age 15-18 at the start of the internship; Requirement: Write and converse fluently in English; Requirement: Available for the fixed eight-week, 24-hour-per-week schedule; Exclusion: Applicants outside commuting distance; Exclusion: Applicants who cannot attend the full fixed schedule; Exclusion: Family members and friends may not serve as the required recommender |
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| Session dates or duration | Catalog terms: 1 week; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Starts June 6, 2027; Ends June 17, 2027; 2 weeks (2027 cycle) | Last year's cycle (2026): Starts June 23, 2026; Ends August 14, 2026; 8 weeks; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Format | In person | In person | In person |
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| Housing and supervision | 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 |
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| Location | West Lafayette, Indiana, Purdue University campus | Columbus, Ohio, Ohio Supercomputer Center and The Ohio State University campus | Washington, District of Columbia, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History |
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| Selection and application | Selection: Rolling review until limited sessions fill; waitlist afterward. No acceptance rate is published. | Selection: Competitive and space-limited; applications are evaluated for teamwork and willingness to learn, but capacity and acceptance rate are not published. Application materials: One teacher recommendation | Selection: Selective; applicants rank projects, but a ranked department or project is not guaranteed. Application materials: Four statement-of-interest responses of 250 words each; One confidential recommendation from a non-family recommender |
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| Official sources | Source 1 · checked 2026-08-20Source 2 · checked 2026-08-20Source 3 · checked 2026-08-20 | Source 1 · checked 2026-10-09Source 2 · checked 2026-10-09Source 3 · checked 2026-08-22 | Source 1 · checked 2026-08-20Source 2 · checked 2026-08-20Source 3 · checked 2026-08-20 |
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