Dr. J. J. Lagowski
Director Emeritus

The Welch Summer Scholar Program, sponsored by the Robert A. Welch Foundation of Texas, has been active for 25 years now. We have offered approximately 1,300 high school junior and senior students in the State of Texas (those who had completed their junior or senior year by the starting date of the program) the opportunity to spend 5 weeks on a university campus, to work with professional researchers in professional laboratories, and to form lifelong friendships with other students who share their same interests.

The primary goal of the Welch Summer Scholar Program is to provide talented Texas students with learning opportunities above and beyond those normally available in high school science education programs. A secondary goal of this program is to recognize the capacity of students to be motivated by a measure of independence in their studies and, thus, to accept greater responsibility for planning and carrying out their own learning.

The students who participate in the program are chosen on a competitive basis. The students are evaluated by a Selection Committee made up of the Program Coordinators at each of the university sites based on their SAT scores, their academic standing as documented on their official transcripts, and remarks regarding character and academic potential from a recommending teacher as well as letters from two supporting teachers.