Updated November 2026
TL;DR
The Clark Scholars Program is a free, seven-week summer research program at Texas Tech University that picks just 12 rising seniors and recent high school graduates each year. Scholars work one-on-one with a faculty mentor, live on campus at no cost and earn a $750 tax-free stipend for a successful research report. For summer 2027 (June 20 to August 5), applications open January 2 and close February 15, 2027. You must be 17 by the start date and a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
Most summer research programs either charge thousands of dollars or put you in a lecture hall with dozens of other students. The Anson L. Clark Scholars Program does neither: it's free, it pays you, and with only 12 scholars, you work one-on-one with a professor on a real project. Texas Tech, a Carnegie R1 research university in Lubbock, has run it for more than 30 years on an endowment from the Anson L. Clark Foundation, and scholars do their research across the main campus and the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center.
Comparing research options? See our list of summer research programs for high school students in Texas or these summer science programs for high school students.
How much does the Clark Scholars Program cost, and when is it in 2027?
The Clark Scholars Program is free and runs seven weeks, from June 20 to August 5, 2027. Texas Tech covers your on-campus housing, meals, seminars and weekend activities, and pays a $750 tax-free stipend when you complete a successful research project report. You pay only the $25 application fee, your travel to and from Lubbock, and any personal or medical expenses.
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Detail |
What you need to know |
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Host |
Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas (main campus and Health Sciences Center) |
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Dates |
June 20 to August 5, 2027 (seven weeks, residential) |
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Cost |
Free; $25 application fee, plus travel and personal expenses |
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Stipend |
$750, tax-free, paid on completion of a successful research project report |
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Eligibility |
Rising seniors and recent high school graduates, 17 by the start date, U.S. citizens or permanent residents |
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Acceptance rate/cohort size |
Acceptance rate not published; 12 scholars a year |
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Application deadline |
February 15, 2027, 11:59 p.m. CT (opens January 2, 2027) |
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Decisions |
No later than early May 2027 |
Who can apply to the Clark Scholars Program?
Rising high school seniors and students who have just graduated can apply, as long as they meet two strict rules. Texas Tech's benefits and eligibility page lists:
Age: at least 17 by the program start date (June 20, 2027). Texas Tech says "NO EXCEPTIONS," and won't answer emails asking for one.
Timing: you take part the summer before your senior year or the summer right after you graduate high school.
Citizenship: you must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, so international students can't apply.
The Clark Scholars Program is extremely competitive: Texas Tech selects only 12 scholars each summer, and their average SAT score is "usually in the 99th percentile." Texas Tech doesn't publish an acceptance rate or applicant count. If you're younger or live outside the U.S., Ladder Internships accepts high school students in grades 9 to 12 from anywhere for remote start-up internships.
What research areas does the Clark Scholars Program offer in 2027?
Texas Tech has posted five research areas for summer 2027, with 12 proposed projects: biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering and economics. Topics run from bioinformatics, disease ecology and sustainable catalysis to large language models, radar, drug delivery and asset pricing. Areas change each year with faculty availability, so read the 2027 research areas page before you write your essays.
For a sense of the work, the 2026 scholars studied how multimodal large language models refuse requests across languages, what shapes the gut bacteria of mosquitoes, and how a 2025 English-proficiency rule affected U.S. trucking.
7 reasons the Clark Scholars Program stands out
1. The Clark Scholars Program is free
Texas Tech charges no program fee, and your room, meals and activities are covered. That's rare for a residential research program at a university. Your only required cost is the $25 application fee, plus getting to Lubbock and back.
2. The Clark Scholars Program pays you a $750 stipend
Scholars earn a $750 tax-free stipend once they complete a successful research project report. It isn't a salary, but it covers incidental and personal costs during the summer, so the program costs most families close to nothing.
3. With 12 Clark Scholars, you get one-on-one faculty mentorship
Each scholar works one-on-one with a faculty member, not as one face in a large lab group. In a cohort of 12, your mentor knows your work well, which also makes them a strong candidate for a recommendation letter later.
4. The Clark Scholars Program matches you to a project you choose
Your research interest essay is used to match you to a professor, so you shape what you'll work on. Texas Tech asks you to describe your primary research interests and project ideas "being very specific," with an optional second interest. That means you're doing research you picked, not filling in wherever a lab needs help.
5. Clark Scholars do real research, not coursework
The heart of the program is an actual research project, not a course. The 2026 projects ranged from synthesizing antimony compounds in chemistry to building a parallel analog computing architecture in electrical engineering, the kind of work many undergraduates wait years to try.
6. Weekly seminars and field trips build the Clark Scholars cohort
Beyond the lab, the program adds weekly seminars, discussions, field trips and social activities. With only 12 scholars living together on campus, you get to know other students who are just as serious about research as you are.
7. The Clark Scholars Program ends with a research report and presentation
You finish the summer with a written research report and a Presentation Day for your work. That gives you something concrete to talk about in college essays and interviews, and a project you can keep building in later research.
Is the Clark Scholars Program worth it for college applications?
Yes, if you're admitted: a free, highly selective, faculty-mentored project shows colleges real research ability, not just interest. A 12-person cohort and a finished research report stand out, especially when you can explain what you found and why it mattered. Timing matters, though: if you go the summer after you graduate, the program comes after your college applications are in, so it won't appear on them, though it still helps you land research positions in college.
With so few spots, treat the Clark Scholars Program as one application among several. You apply by mid-February and hear back by early May, so line up other summer options in the meantime. Ladder Internships places high school students in remote, eight-week start-up internships, where they work on a real project with a company coach, in fields such as AI and machine learning, healthcare and biotech, engineering and environmental science, with full financial aid available.
How do you apply to the Clark Scholars Program, and when is the 2027 deadline?
The 2027 application opens January 2, 2027, and closes February 15, 2027, at 11:59 p.m. CT. Texas Tech's application components page asks for:
Online application and the $25 application fee.
Essays: a research interest essay (2,000 characters), an optional second research interest, a personal essay on yourself and your goals (2,000 characters) and a service essay (1,500 characters). The essay prompts are posted now.
Transcripts: unofficial PDFs are fine; you can add AP score reports.
Test scores: SAT or ACT with a score report, or a PSAT or PACT score if you don't have SAT or ACT scores by the deadline.
Three recommendations: at least two from teachers; the third can come from a teacher, research mentor, principal investigator or volunteer organization. They're online questionnaires, due by the deadline.
Top 5 activities: honors, research and extracurriculars. No resume or extra activities list.
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Step |
Date |
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Application opens |
January 2, 2027 |
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Application deadline |
February 15, 2027, 11:59 p.m. CT |
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Decisions |
No later than early May 2027 |
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Program dates |
June 20 to August 5, 2027 |
How can you stand out in the Clark Scholars Program application?
Because Texas Tech accepts nothing beyond the required components, every piece has to do its job, and the research essay matters most. It drives your faculty match, so name the 2027 area, the questions you'd want to explore and the skills you already have. Choose recommenders who have seen you dig into a problem, such as a teacher or a research or volunteer supervisor, over a famous name.
Get your test scores in on time, because Texas Tech won't accept them after the deadline. If your SAT or ACT won't arrive, send a PSAT or PACT score instead. And since supplemental materials aren't accepted, put your best work into the five activities and the service essay rather than a resume.
Common questions about the Clark Scholars Program
What is the Clark Scholars Program acceptance rate?
Texas Tech doesn't publish an acceptance rate. It selects 12 scholars each summer from a pool it calls "very competitive," and their average SAT score is usually in the 99th percentile.
When do Clark Scholars decisions come out?
Texas Tech sends decisions no later than early May. If decisions will come earlier, it posts the timeframe on the program's main page.
What do Clark Scholars do during the seven weeks?
Scholars spend most of their time on research with their faculty mentor. They also attend weekly seminars and discussions, go on field trips, and finish with a research project report and a Presentation Day.
Can international students apply to the Clark Scholars Program?
No. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. International students can look at these summer research programs for international high school students. Ladder Internships also accepts high school students worldwide for remote, eight-week start-up internships with a company coach, at 5 to 10 hours a week, with full financial aid available. The next deadline is November 15, 2026, for the Winter I cohort starting December 7, 2026.
Contact us at contact@ladderinternships.com if you have any questions!