About
The Aspiring Scholars Directed Research Program (ASDRP) is a nonprofit, private research and development institution where high school students carry out original research in STEM and interdisciplinary fields. Students work on projects such as developing novel therapies against cancer, using data science to understand the impact of climate change on society, synthesizing the next generation of antibiotics, developing machine learning platforms for drug discovery, understanding mechanisms of memory acquisition, and probing the universe for ultrafast radio burst signals. They also engage in activities like publishing papers, presenting work at conferences, generating intellectual property, attending public seminars called Colloquia, participating in Research 101 sessions, taking part in mock peer-review, writing research papers, and giving poster presentations at an end-of-summer expo while building skills in public speaking, technical writing, analytical thinking, and experimental design.
• Ages: 14–18 years old
• Schedule: Autumn 2025 Term runs September 1–January 15, Spring 2026 Term runs January 16–May 30, and Summer 2026 Term runs June 1–August 30, with research typically conducted in the evenings and weekends.
• Price: Summer program cost ranges from $0–$1070, depending on financial need, and the School Year (Academic Year 2025–2026) program cost is $1070.
ASDRP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research and development institution that focuses on high school students throughout the Bay Area, especially those who are underrepresented in STEM or who are socioeconomically disadvantaged. It is described as the premier pre-collegiate research and development institution and premier precollegiate research establishment in the Bay Area and performs research year-round. ASDRP is run by a consortium of highly skilled scientists, engineers, and researchers with years of academic and industry experience, and research is supervised by research faculty organized into three departments: Biological/Human/Life Sciences; Chemistry/Biochemistry/Physics; and Computer Science & Engineering.
The program mentors high school students in 9th through 12th grade from the greater Bay Area, across the United States, and around the world, and applications for Summer Research are open to rising 9th–12th grade students around the Bay Area, while applications for School Year Research are open to current 9th–12th grade students around the Bay Area. ASDRP provides students with research mentors and over $4 million worth of research equipment, and projects are original research projects that expand current scientific knowledge rather than experiments with known results. Students publish their research papers in the ASDRP Communications online journal, give poster presentations at an end-of-summer expo, and ASDRP follows up with students to help place them into university research laboratories and industry internships in subsequent summers.
Colloquia are public events and mandatory for ASDRP researchers, and during Summer 2026 they are scheduled on Tuesdays from 7:00–8:30 PM on listed dates from early June through late August, with additional Blitz Talks dates in September. A Parent Fireside Chat is held bi-weekly on Wednesdays from 6:30–7:15 PM on listed dates from June through October to keep parents informed and provide updates. Research 101 is weekly and mandatory and provides knowledge, skill, and tools to make students well-rounded, productive, and successful researchers, with multiple Summer 2026 sections offered on different days and times from early June through mid-August.
Each year, ASDRP awards several partial and full scholarships for students from underrepresented backgrounds to pursue STEM research, and for students who meet financial need eligibility criteria, there is no cost to attending the summer program. Students accepted into ASDRP are given the option to select specialty courses such as Machine Learning, Organic Chemistry, and MatLab at no additional cost. ASDRP provides access to scientific research and mentorship for high school students underrepresented in STEM or students with socioeconomic difficulty, is committed to serving the diverse community in which it is located, and is a production of Olive Children Foundation, a nonprofit organization in Fremont, California.
Last updated June 19, 2026.
• Ages: 14–18 years old
• Schedule: Autumn 2025 Term runs September 1–January 15, Spring 2026 Term runs January 16–May 30, and Summer 2026 Term runs June 1–August 30, with research typically conducted in the evenings and weekends.
• Price: Summer program cost ranges from $0–$1070, depending on financial need, and the School Year (Academic Year 2025–2026) program cost is $1070.
ASDRP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research and development institution that focuses on high school students throughout the Bay Area, especially those who are underrepresented in STEM or who are socioeconomically disadvantaged. It is described as the premier pre-collegiate research and development institution and premier precollegiate research establishment in the Bay Area and performs research year-round. ASDRP is run by a consortium of highly skilled scientists, engineers, and researchers with years of academic and industry experience, and research is supervised by research faculty organized into three departments: Biological/Human/Life Sciences; Chemistry/Biochemistry/Physics; and Computer Science & Engineering.
The program mentors high school students in 9th through 12th grade from the greater Bay Area, across the United States, and around the world, and applications for Summer Research are open to rising 9th–12th grade students around the Bay Area, while applications for School Year Research are open to current 9th–12th grade students around the Bay Area. ASDRP provides students with research mentors and over $4 million worth of research equipment, and projects are original research projects that expand current scientific knowledge rather than experiments with known results. Students publish their research papers in the ASDRP Communications online journal, give poster presentations at an end-of-summer expo, and ASDRP follows up with students to help place them into university research laboratories and industry internships in subsequent summers.
Colloquia are public events and mandatory for ASDRP researchers, and during Summer 2026 they are scheduled on Tuesdays from 7:00–8:30 PM on listed dates from early June through late August, with additional Blitz Talks dates in September. A Parent Fireside Chat is held bi-weekly on Wednesdays from 6:30–7:15 PM on listed dates from June through October to keep parents informed and provide updates. Research 101 is weekly and mandatory and provides knowledge, skill, and tools to make students well-rounded, productive, and successful researchers, with multiple Summer 2026 sections offered on different days and times from early June through mid-August.
Each year, ASDRP awards several partial and full scholarships for students from underrepresented backgrounds to pursue STEM research, and for students who meet financial need eligibility criteria, there is no cost to attending the summer program. Students accepted into ASDRP are given the option to select specialty courses such as Machine Learning, Organic Chemistry, and MatLab at no additional cost. ASDRP provides access to scientific research and mentorship for high school students underrepresented in STEM or students with socioeconomic difficulty, is committed to serving the diverse community in which it is located, and is a production of Olive Children Foundation, a nonprofit organization in Fremont, California.
Last updated June 19, 2026.
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