Start exploring COSMOS summer programs for high schoolers

Dates:

Jul 5–31, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$5,518 (2026 pricing; housing, meals and field trips)

Location:

Davis, CA (UC Davis campus)

Grades:

Rising 9th–12th graders attending high school in California (completed grades 8–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Due Feb 5, 2027

Students learn enough C programming to solve quantum mechanics problems on a computer, then use lab instruments to measure LED band gaps and electromagnetic pulses, and work in small groups to build scanning tunneling microscopes. Typical field trips include Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and the Exploratorium.

Residency restriction: CA residents

Dates:

Jul 5–31, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$5,518 (2026 pricing; housing, meals and field trips)

Location:

Davis, CA (UC Davis campus)

Grades:

Rising 9th–12th graders attending high school in California (completed grades 8–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Due Feb 5, 2027

Examines how transportation can meet mobility needs with less environmental harm through courses in system design (using practitioner simulation software), vehicle technology, public transit and micromobility. Field trips include the Unitrans bus yard, the Vallejo ferry and mobility providers.

Residency restriction: CA residents

Dates:

Jul 5–31, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$5,518 (2026 pricing; housing, meals and field trips)

Location:

Davis, CA (UC Davis campus)

Grades:

Rising 9th–12th graders attending high school in California (completed grades 8–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Due Feb 5, 2027

Introduces data collection, exploratory and confirmatory analysis, predictive modeling and data ethics, practiced in Python on real datasets, with talks from industry professionals.

Residency restriction: CA residents

Dates:

Jul 5–31, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$5,518 (2026 pricing; housing, meals and field trips)

Location:

Davis, CA (UC Davis campus)

Grades:

Rising 9th–12th graders attending high school in California (completed grades 8–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Due Feb 5, 2027

Machine learning basics through lectures and coding projects: data exploration, supervised and unsupervised learning, model evaluation and deep learning, with hands-on labs building Python models on real data.

Residency restriction: CA residents

Dates:

Jul 5–31, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$5,518 (2026 pricing; housing, meals and field trips)

Location:

Davis, CA (UC Davis campus)

Grades:

Rising 9th–12th graders attending high school in California (completed grades 8–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Due Feb 5, 2027

The biology, chemistry and engineering of raising fish, shellfish, seaweed and plants through freshwater and marine aquaculture, hydroponics and aquaponics. Field trips include caviar producers, Bodega Marine Lab, oyster companies and the Nimbus Fish Hatchery.

Residency restriction: CA residents

Dates:

Jul 5–31, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$5,518 (2026 pricing; housing, meals and field trips)

Location:

Davis, CA (UC Davis campus)

Grades:

Rising 9th–12th graders attending high school in California (completed grades 8–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Due Feb 5, 2027

Aerospace and automotive engineering, from how aircraft and drones generate lift and noise to vehicle power and handling, with labs in MATLAB/Simulink and team projects on a planetary quadcopter and ground-vehicle performance.

Residency restriction: CA residents

Dates:

Jul 5–31, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$5,518 (2026 pricing; housing, meals and field trips)

Location:

Davis, CA (UC Davis campus)

Grades:

Rising 9th–12th graders attending high school in California (completed grades 8–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Due Feb 5, 2027

Traces scientific reasoning from ancient Greece to Newtonian mechanics, then turns to nuclear materials (fission, fusion, enrichment) and electro-optics, including fiber-optic communication, lasers and circuits, with a planned visit to the McClellan Nuclear Reactor facility.

Residency restriction: CA residents

Dates:

Jul 5–31, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$5,518 (2026 pricing; housing, meals and field trips)

Location:

Davis, CA (UC Davis campus)

Grades:

Rising 9th–12th graders attending high school in California (completed grades 8–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Due Feb 5, 2027

Two-week units in mechanical engineering (manufacturing, strength of materials, engines and electric cars, wind energy, control systems) and aerospace engineering (flight, rocketry, satellites, propulsion), with 3D printing, machine shop work, wave-table experiments and model airplanes and rockets.

Residency restriction: CA residents

Dates:

Jul 5–31, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$5,518 (2026 pricing; housing, meals and field trips)

Location:

Davis, CA (UC Davis campus)

Grades:

Rising 9th–12th graders attending high school in California (completed grades 8–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Due Feb 5, 2027

Four linked courses (Foundations of Astronomy, Star and Planet Formation, Stellar Evolution, and Cosmology) plus guest lectures, with student research projects in Python taught from the basics.

Residency restriction: CA residents

Dates:

Jul 5–31, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$5,518 (2026 pricing; housing, meals and field trips)

Location:

Davis, CA (UC Davis campus)

Grades:

Rising 9th–12th graders attending high school in California (completed grades 8–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Due Feb 5, 2027

Uses probability and computer simulations of random walks to study molecular behavior in living cells, alongside building and programming LEGO Mindstorms robots. Typical field trips include the Exploratorium and Electronic Arts.

Residency restriction: CA residents

Dates:

Jul 5–31, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$5,518 (2026 pricing; housing, meals and field trips)

Location:

Davis, CA (UC Davis campus)

Grades:

Rising 9th–12th graders attending high school in California (completed grades 8–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Due Feb 5, 2027

Hands-on advanced mathematics for students who love math: a core course in probability and counting methods plus a survey of pure and applied mathematics. Typical field trips include the Exploratorium and the California Academy of Sciences.

Residency restriction: CA residents

Dates:

Jul 5–31, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$5,518 (2026 pricing; housing, meals and field trips)

Location:

Davis, CA (UC Davis campus)

Grades:

Rising 9th–12th graders attending high school in California (completed grades 8–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Due Feb 5, 2027

Explores the bacteria, fungi and viruses that harm or help plants, plant disease and food safety, with microscopy and lab work, a project isolating a microbe of the student's choice, and designing a plant-microbe game. Field trips include a plant pathology lab, a commercial tomato field and an agricultural biotech company.

Residency restriction: CA residents

Dates:

Jul 5–31, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$5,518 (2026 pricing; housing, meals and field trips)

Location:

Davis, CA (UC Davis campus)

Grades:

Rising 9th–12th graders attending high school in California (completed grades 8–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Due Feb 5, 2027

Covers semiconductor physics, building analog circuits such as amplifiers, and digital logic, microcontrollers and integrated circuits, ending in functional electronic prototypes. Typical field trips include the UC Davis Center for Nano-Micro Manufacturing and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.

Residency restriction: CA residents

Dates:

Jul 5–31, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$5,518 (2026 pricing; housing, meals and field trips)

Location:

Irvine, CA (UC Irvine campus)

Grades:

Rising 9th–12th graders attending high school in California (completed grades 8–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Due Feb 5, 2027

Data science for biology and medicine: exploratory analysis, visualization, probability, experimental design, linear models and machine learning, using the R language. Capstone projects use real data from fields such as neuroscience, public health and pharmacology.

Residency restriction: CA residents

Dates:

Jul 5–31, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$5,518 (2026 pricing; housing, meals and field trips)

Location:

Irvine, CA (UC Irvine campus)

Grades:

Rising 9th–12th graders attending high school in California (completed grades 8–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Due Feb 5, 2027

A tour of modern physics, including condensed matter, particle, biological and plasma physics and astronomy, in which students build devices, collect real data and analyze it with Python and machine learning.

Residency restriction: CA residents

Dates:

Jul 5–31, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$5,518 (2026 pricing; housing, meals and field trips)

Location:

Irvine, CA (UC Irvine campus)

Grades:

Rising 9th–12th graders attending high school in California (completed grades 8–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Due Feb 5, 2027

How cells grow and interact in tissues and how tumors form, studied through lab work with model organisms such as frog eggs and Hydra alongside a mathematical biology course that builds computer models of tissue and tumor growth.

Residency restriction: CA residents

Dates:

Jul 5–31, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$5,518 (2026 pricing; housing, meals and field trips)

Location:

Irvine, CA (UC Irvine campus)

Grades:

Rising 9th–12th graders attending high school in California (completed grades 8–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Due Feb 5, 2027

Introduces the expanding universe and the fundamental particles behind the periodic table: how particles interact, how astronomers measure cosmic expansion, and the open questions in astronomy and particle physics.

Residency restriction: CA residents

Dates:

Jul 5–31, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$5,518 (2026 pricing; housing, meals and field trips)

Location:

Irvine, CA (UC Irvine campus)

Grades:

Rising 9th–12th graders attending high school in California (completed grades 8–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Due Feb 5, 2027

Aerospace and mechanical engineering design, flight mechanics and the emissions tradeoffs of fuels, batteries, solar and fuel cells, with CAD and 3D printing, ending in designing, building and flying a remote-controlled aircraft.

Residency restriction: CA residents

Dates:

Jul 5–31, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$5,518 (2026 pricing; housing, meals and field trips)

Location:

Irvine, CA (UC Irvine campus)

Grades:

Rising 9th–12th graders attending high school in California (completed grades 8–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Due Feb 5, 2027

How gene expression makes cells different, using skeletal muscle development and dystrophies as a case study, with lab work measuring gene expression, RNA-seq data analysis and small-group research projects.

Residency restriction: CA residents

Dates:

Jul 5–31, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$5,518 (2026 pricing; housing, meals and field trips)

Location:

Irvine, CA (UC Irvine campus)

Grades:

Rising 9th–12th graders attending high school in California (completed grades 8–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Due Feb 5, 2027

An introduction to brain-computer interfaces: recording brain signals, analyzing and classifying them, and using brainwaves to control devices, combining neuroscience and biomedical engineering.

Residency restriction: CA residents

Dates:

Jul 5–31, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$5,518 (2026 pricing; housing, meals and field trips)

Location:

Irvine, CA (UC Irvine campus)

Grades:

Rising 9th–12th graders attending high school in California (completed grades 8–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Due Feb 5, 2027

Studies how gut bacteria respond to diet and stresses such as heat, acid and salt, with lab work isolating and identifying bacteria from foods and exploring how stress responses can make bacteria tolerant of antibiotics.

Residency restriction: CA residents

Dates:

Jul 5–31, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$5,518 (2026 pricing; housing, meals and field trips)

Location:

Merced, CA (UC Merced campus)

Grades:

Rising 9th–12th graders attending high school in California (completed grades 8–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Due Feb 5, 2027

The physics of polymers, liquid crystals, colloids, gels and foams: students use research microscopes, design and build microfluidic devices, experiment with complex fluids and carry out mini research projects.

Residency restriction: CA residents

Dates:

Jul 5–31, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$5,518 (2026 pricing; housing, meals and field trips)

Location:

Merced, CA (UC Merced campus)

Grades:

Rising 9th–12th graders attending high school in California (completed grades 8–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Due Feb 5, 2027

How materials behave differently at the nanoscale, with lab work synthesizing and characterizing metallic nanoparticles and testing how they speed up chemical reactions.

Residency restriction: CA residents

Dates:

Jul 5–31, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$5,518 (2026 pricing; housing, meals and field trips)

Location:

Merced, CA (UC Merced campus)

Grades:

Rising 9th–12th graders attending high school in California (completed grades 8–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Due Feb 5, 2027

How metals, polymers, biomaterials, semiconductors and nanomaterials are made and tested: students synthesize polymers, 3D print products, chemically recycle plastic waste and test metal and alloy samples.

Residency restriction: CA residents