Authentic research with faculty mentors
Are you a high school junior or sophomore interested in pursuing a STEM career and wanting to go to college? Then consider a research experience by working with St. Bonaventure University faculty on an authentic research project.
Your research experience will take place on the SBU campus, pending university policy approval. A faculty mentor will work with you on a cutting-edge science topic. Scientists from different STEM fields will share their insights into your future career paths and give you advice on how to prepare for your future success remotely.
You will conclude your research experience by presenting your own project as a poster. Here, you will hone your science communication skills and make your family proud. Throughout the program you will have the opportunity to bond with peers who have the same interest in STEM and passionate scientists who whom you interact.
Program Eligibility
Applicants for the summer program must be completing their sophomore or junior year of high school before summer 2023.
This is not a residential program. No on-campus housing accommodations are available for the program. For students who need housing accommodations, please contact Dr. Zhang for recommendations of off-campus housing options.
Summer of 2023 program (July 17-28, 2023)
- Application Deadline: Friday, April 7, 2023
- Announcement of Acceptance: Friday, April 21, 2023
- Program Dates: Monday, July 17 - Friday, July 28, 2023 (2 weeks)
Application Submission
To apply for the summer research program, students should prepare the following:
- An unofficial copy of your high school transcript
- A one-page personal statement describing why you want to apply to this program
- Rank your top three areas of interest from the following topics: Biochemistry, Bioinformatics, Biopsychology, Comparative Anatomy, Developmental Biology, Materials Chemistry, Microbiology, Molecular Genetics, Stoichiometry, Computational Chemistry
- A $150 program fee is required when acceptance is confirmed.
Application materials may be submitted electronically to:
Dr. Xiao-Ning Zhang
Professor of biology, director of the biochemistry program
Email Dr. Zhang
Phone: (716) 375-2485
View photos from past programs
Photos from previous years' student research programs are available for viewing and for download on our university Flickr site. Click on a particular year below to access its Flickr folder. (Note: The 2020 program was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.):
Program supporters
Support for the High School Student Research Program has come from the following donors:
- The National Science Foundation
- SBU Keenan Grant
- Cutco Corp.
- The Kim family
- The Wood family
- Corning, Inc.
- Western New York STEM Hub
- Roswell Park Cancer Institute
- C-A Teacher Center
- Olean Medical Group
- Salamanca CSD
- Olean CSD
- The Fan family