Grantee Spotlight Archive

Summer Program Supports California Students’ Passion for Math and Sciences

Summer in California may bring to mind sunny days and trips to the beach for many, but some of our state’s most gifted high school students are looking forward to summer for a new reason: COSMOS, the California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science. Hosted on four University of California campuses, COSMOS is a highly selective summer school that gives talented and motivated students a chance to accelerate their education in math, science and technology alongside top researchers, post-doctoral fellows and the occasional Nobel Prize winner. Each COSMOS site also provides financial aid awards to selected students as they prepare to enter college.

The California state legislature founded COSMOS in 2000 to support and nurture young people’s interest in these fields by challenging them with ideas and connections they might not have access to in their schools. Summer 2007’s program clusters, for example, will feature a course on electronic game development in which students will be able to design their own game using physiological, mathematical and electrical engineering elements. By showing students practical applications of the often abstract subjects that pique their interest, COSMOS empowers them to imagine what the pursuit of these disciplines could mean for their lives and careers.

College Access Foundation of California has just increased its five-year support of COSMOS with a $200,000 award that will boost to $50,000 the amount that each site awards in financial aid. “This funding will make the size and number of awards – and of COSMOS itself – highly visible,” says Daniel Aldrich, Senior Counsel to the University of California Office of the President, which oversees COSMOS. “These awards are now a great recruiting tool, and it is safe to say we will only see increased interest in COSMOS in the future.”

COSMOS enrollment for Summer 2007 has reached capacity at 600 students for the first time, bringing the program’s total enrollment to 3,000 students since its inception. COSMOS seeks out talented students from all over California, having received applicants from 46 of the state’s 58 counties thus far. A recent survey of COSMOS alumni who have recently graduated from high school showed 100% of these alumni accepted at top universities, with 86% focused in math and science fields.

The benefits of COSMOS reach wider than the individual students. “For California to remain competitive globally,” Aldrich says, “it will need to lead the development of various disciplines – nano-technology, bio-technology, information technology, etc. – that will sustain our economy.”

Through its summer programs, COSMOS gives future leaders an unprecedented opportunity to participate in these fields at an early point in their lives. COSMOS also supports and mentors these students throughout college. Their association with the program enhances their ability to obtain sought-after internships and other opportunities during their college years and beyond.

For more information on College Access Foundation grants visit our Grants page. To read more College Access Foundation grantee spotlights, visit our Spotlight Archive.

To learn more about COSMOS, click here.