Caribbean Summer

Scholars Program

Spend your summer working with some of the world’s smartest doctoral candidates. Learn marketable technical skills, work on doctoral level research and create great experiences!

CSSP takes pride in its commitment to equity and the advancement of education for the Caribbean’s youth and beyond. We envision CSSP as an intellectual hub where students from diverse backgrounds across the Caribbean and the world converge to explore and address complex scientific, mathematical, societal, and innovative challenges. Through financial aid and merit scholarships, we aim to foster a community of scholars dedicated to making meaningful contributions to society.

About The Program

The Caribbean Summer Scholars Program is the first and only program of its kind in the Caribbean, designed to match talented high school students with current doctoral students in the US, UK, or Canada. The program offers a unique opportunity for students to take courses and work on individual and group projects, learning new technical skills, becoming exposed to modern careers, and gaining insight into the frontier of research. Offering a hybrid approach (online and in person), the program is designed to provide students with a comprehensive and immersive learning experience, giving them a taste of what it’s like to be a researcher at a top university and equipping them with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in their fields of interest. The program is open to all high school students in the Caribbean, US, UK or Canada. This is a great opportunity for students to gain valuable experience and exposure to topics and skills not covered by the typical curriculum in the English Speaking Caribbean.

Courses

Our program offers a wide range of courses to challenge and inspire high achieving students. Our courses cover a variety of subjects, from finance and biotechnology to heat transfer, literature, race, and self-design projects. We believe that a well-rounded education is essential for success, and our program reflects that philosophy. By taking our courses, students will gain a solid understanding of a subject and develop critical thinking skills, problem-solving abilities, and technical expertise through independent research, project-based learning, and mentorship. Our faculty consists of the generation of scholars and practitioners who are passionate about teaching and mentoring young minds. We encourage high achieving students to take advantage of this opportunity to learn from the best and challenge themselves in a supportive and intellectually stimulating environment. Click “Access our catalogue of courses” below for our full list of courses.

Work on creative projects!

How does CSSP work ?

Students sign up for one or more courses that are taught by current doctoral students at some of the world’s top universities (Harvard, Berkeley, UToronto, Johns Hopkins, UMiami, Drexel, Columbia etc). Students work on individual and group projects and are introduced to a foundation in technical, creative or research skills. Some students will get the opportunity to work as research assistants on ongoing projects at the frontier of research in their respective fields. All students, after acquiring specific skills (such as coding, data analysis, writing mathematical proofs), will then work on a project that will be supervised by the lecturer. Students will acquire modern, technical and in-demand skills that will prepare them to take more advanced courses in college.

Past students have worked on projects to improve the accessibility of financial data in Jamaica by writing python scripts to scrape the website of the Jamaica Stock Exchange. Other students have assisted with ongoing PhD-level research which centres around capturing the widely under-researched oral history of marginalized groups in Jamaica. The program is offered online and in person (in Kingston, Jamaica). Some courses have excursions to labs, museums, landmarks. Each course spans 5 to 10 weeks. Each week, students can expect to meet with lecturers for at least one 1.5 hour session and spend anywhere between 5 and 10 hours outside of class working on their projects. Given that we recruit top students from across the Caribbean, classes are taught remotely while some excursions (museums, landmarks, research centers) and workshops are held in person on our partner campuses across Jamaica.

Your instructors

Alex Ashley, PhD Chemical Engineering

Jovante Anderson, PhD English Literature

Victoria Puglia, Rhodes Scholar (International Relations)

Marissa Falcone, PhD Clinical Psychology

Calvin Wright, PhD Finance and Business Economics

Andrew Rojnuckarin, PhD Biomedical Engineering

Astrid Jenkins, Oxford University

Sydni Spencer, PhD Biomedical Engineering

Workshops, panel discussions & case studies!

We’ve organized a series of speaker sessions, workshops, and panel discussions to enrich the perspectives of CSSP participants. Our goal is to expose students to leading careers, and the path required to achieve them, including graduate school, internships, and building a strong college application. We’re collaborating with industry experts to ensure that these sessions are informative and impactful, and we believe that attendance is mandatory for all CSSP participants. Our aim is to inspire and equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary for success in their chosen careers.

Topics & Speakers :

Financial Aid and Costs

The CSSP 2023 program is an exceptional opportunity for high-achieving students from the Caribbean to engage in a world-class learning experience. We recognize that the cost of summer programs can be prohibitively expensive for many families, which is why we are committed to ensuring that financial need does not prevent qualified students from participating in our program.

Our admissions committee will carefully review all applications and select the most academically successful students who demonstrate financial need. By offering our program at no cost, we hope to level the playing field and provide equal access to educational opportunities for all students, regardless of their financial circumstances.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) & Why CSSP 2023 ?

Can I have a summer internship and participate in CSSP 2023?

Yes! In fact, if your internship is related to a course you've signed uo for, then we even recommend it.

How many hours per week might I be expected to commit each week during CSSP 2023?

This depends on how many courses you sign up for. Each course meets for 1.5 hours total each week. Additionally, students attend office hours for 1 hour to get 1-1 feedback from lecturers and ask individal questions. Students can also expect to spend anywhere from 1 - 10 additional hours per week working on their individual or group project, attending workshops and seminars, completing experiments and attending excursions. So students can expect to dedicate between 2.5 to 12 hours a week for each course. This is an academically rigorous program.

I am not a resident of the Caribbean. Can I participate ?

Yes! This program is designed for English Speaking Caribbean students, however we welcome applicants from the US, Canada, UK, China and everywhere else in the world!

What grade level can attend CSSP 2023 ?

The course is ideal for high school students who are currently in 4th, 5th, or 6th form (grades 10, 11, and 12). We assess the background of each student to determine if they are adequately prepaed for the rigour of our courses. We also offer our courses at both the intermediate and advanced levels to ensure that students are placed in the appropriate class.

Financial Aid for CSSP Program

At the heart of the Caribbean Summer Scholars Program (CSSP) lies a commitment to providing equitable opportunities for all high-achieving students, regardless of their financial circumstances. Our aim is to support low-income students who demonstrate academic excellence and a strong commitment to learning. Financial aid in the form of grants or fellowships is available to waive some or all of the costs associated with participating in between 1 and 4 courses during the summer curriculum.

The decision to offer financial aid is made independently of the admissions process. First and foremost, students are evaluated based on their potential to thrive in the rigorous academic environment that CSSP offers. Once accepted into the program, each student’s financial aid application undergoes careful consideration by our consultants. This evaluation takes into account not only the individual financial need of the student but also the broader distribution of financial need among all applicants. Our goal is to award financial aid to all qualified applicants to the fullest extent possible, given the availability of funding.

We understand that financial barriers should not hinder deserving students from accessing quality education. Therefore, we strive to ensure that CSSP remains accessible to those who demonstrate both academic promise and financial need.

Merit Scholarships for CSSP Program

"Investing In Potential, Shaping tomorrow's leader. Scholarships that ignite brilliance."

In addition to providing financial aid to low-income students, we also offer merit-based scholarships to recognize and reward academic achievement and potential. All students, regardless of their financial aid application status, are considered for these scholarships.

Each instructor meticulously reviews applicants to their respective courses, assessing the students’ baseline abilities and potential for success. Merit scholarships are awarded to those students who exhibit exceptional academic performance, a passion for learning, and the drive to excel in their chosen fields.