The Welch Summer Scholar Program, a hands-on summertime experience, is designed to give high school students a chance to learn more about research and to explore the many opportunities available to them. The five-week program immerses students, typically between their junior and senior years of high school, in the intellectual atmosphere of working with practicing academic chemists in and out of their labs. Students participate in real-life research projects under the supervision of experienced research chemists.
Participants are selected on a competitive basis based on academic performance and recommendations. The students are evaluated by a selection committee made up of the program coordinators at each of the participating universities: The University of Texas at Austin, The University of Texas at Arlington, The University of Texas at Dallas, the University of Houston, and Texas Tech University.