Happy student and mentor discussing their Polygence project

Core Program for Summer 2024

Explore your unique research interest

with a hand-picked expert mentor

Why do our Core program this summer?

Your Passion, Your Project

Are you ready to explore your own unique passion in-depth?

The Core program is designed to be structured, but flexible. You choose your area of passion. You choose your start date. We pair you with one of our expert mentors.

Together, you will go deep, and you will finish with a deeper understanding of your area, a strong foundation in how to conduct academic research, and a unique project outcome that you can share with the world.

Smiling Female Student in a Polygence session

In this program you will...

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Dive deep with a mentor

  • Ten one-on-one sessions with a mentor selected for their expertise in the project’s subject matter

  • Three flexibly designed Project Milestones to keep students on track

  • Regular assignments from the expert mentor to create structure and guidance for students towards their expressed goals

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Showcase Your Work

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Receive the support you need

  • Two rounds of Writing Feedback support for any written materials

  • [Optional] Explore potential project topics with expert mentors in various fields

  • [Optional] Receive college credit through exclusive partnership with UCIxGATI

Who is the Core Program For?

The Core Program is best for students who:

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Have a strong desire to spend their summer exploring deeply into a research topic and need mentorship on how to structure their work and research

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Are ready for a rigorous, self-driven project experience with an expert mentor

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Want to create a tangible project outcome that they can publish or present independently with the use of self-service showcasing resources

The Core program will help you...

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  • Validate your preferred college major and/or career choice

  • Understand the basics of academic research and writing

  • Create a tangible outcome to showcase your research interests and passions to future colleges, employers and more

Work with expert mentors like...

We have built a network of over 2000 mentors from world renowned educational institutions, specializing in every field you can imagine:

ross greer research project mentor

Ross Greer

PhD Candidate in Electrical & Computer Engineering

Ross Greer is a PhD Candidate in Electrical & Computer Engineering studying Intelligent Systems, Robotics, and Control at the University of California, San Diego. 

Logan pearce

Logan Pearce

PhD candidate in Social Psychology at Princeton University

Logan Pearce is completing her PhD in Social Psychology at Princeton University. Before Princeton, she earned her B.S. in Symbolic Systems, an interdisciplinary major spanning computer science, psychology, linguistics, and philosophy, from Stanford University in 2020. 

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Chelsea

Doctoral Candidate at Stanford University

Chelsea Harder is a mixed methods researcher completing her Doctorate at Stanford University. She is an expert in Sensory Culture.

Polygence Program Bundles

Matched with a mentor

Milestone I

Project Title, Description, and Desired Outcome

Milestone II

Initial Draft of Project

Milestone III

Final Draft of Project and Showcase

Launchpad sessions

Core Program

Premium Showcasing Support

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2

3

4

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10

Launchpad Program

Core Program

Premium Showcasing Support

(Publishing, Multimedia or Presenting)

Premium Showcasing Support

(Competing)

The Core Polygence Program

The Polygence core program consists of 10 one-on-one sessions between the student and mentor. The program is structured around 3 Milestones in addition to regular assignments to ensure students make steady progress on their project. Given the diversity of projects, these milestones are designed to be as flexible as possible to accommodate any and all types of projects.

Would you like to get a clear sense of your academic interests and explore career paths? Are you ready to get professional support for showcasing you work? Check out our program add-ons through the interactive toggles below!

Get started

Premium Showcasing Support Add-On

Premium Showcasing Support (PSS) is our most popular add-on. It is an addition to the Core Program designed to help you share your research with the world. With this add-on you will:

Develop a Showcasing Plan for your Project

  • Create a personalized showcasing plan with the help of your Showcasing Specialist 

  • Think outside the box and consider journals, conferences, science fairs, etc. for your research

  • Consider your publication timelines, goals for your work, and back-up options

Update your work for submission

  • Revise elements of your work with the help of your Showcasing Specialist with an eye towards submission requirements 

  • Utilize Writing Feedback for line-by-line edits on your written work

Submit to your first choice, and to Polygence-sponsored opportunities

Polygence and the Gifted and Talented Institute (GATI) transferable credit program

We are proud to partner with the pre-collegiate Gifted and Talented Institute (GATI) at a top US research university to allow students the opportunity to apply to a research writing program for the chance to earn 3 academic credits.

UCI campus with Polygence and GATI logos

Our past students say it best...

[My project] was my first time in high school where I felt like a real engineer. It also helped me shape what exactly I want to be doing as an engineer around innovation and creating my own projects, instead of following a blueprint.

The idea that you can do anything, or you can have an effect on a really big problem…that’s something I developed through Polygence and with my mentor.

Polygence Student

[My mentor] wanted to know what I'm interested in. He also talked about what he's interested in, so it was almost like talking to a friend, but he's a mentor as well, and he gave me so much advice...He was someone that encouraged me throughout my entire journey and helped me to stay motivated. He made me feel so proud of myself for working on the project, as well.