Young ScholarsYoung ScholarsProject Summary
Florida State University's Young Scholar Program (YSP) is an academically intensive, six-week residential summer program in science, mathematics, and computer science for gifted and high-achieving high school students. The program is designed to offer new and challenging experiences in science, mathematics, and computer science to outstanding public and private high-school students of Florida. The YSP is carried out by faculty and staff from Florida State University who originally developed and have been operating the current program since 1983.
It includes a balance of formal instruction, field trips, and research participation. The curriculum includes courses in mathematical analysis, computer science, and science ethics for all participants. Each participant also chooses one elective laboratory course in molecular biology or modern physics. These are neither college or high-school courses; rather they are designed for and limited to the students in this program. In addition each student is expected to complete original work in a research setting at Florida State in one of the biological, physical, behavioral, engineering, or computer sciences. The emphasis is on fostering and maintaining student interest in these areas as possible career choices. This emphasis is enhanced further by career-exploration seminars, which provide students with new insights into career possibilities and the academic preparation required.
Student progress
in the required and elective courses is evaluated by written examinations,
and grades and class ranking are established for each student. This information
does not appear in the student's high-school transcript, but is part of
an individual evaluation letter developed for each student. The students
are also evaluated on written and poster presentations covering their individual
research project.
A significant aspect of this program is its residential nature. The students live, eat, study, and relax together in Osceola Hall under the supervision of resident counselors, some of whom are themselves past participants in the program. The growth in interpersonal skills, self-confidence, and maturity that takes place in this environment is often remarkable and is as important to students' future college performance as the enhancement of their abilities in science and mathematics.