Apply Now: 2026 IMD Summer High School Research Program

Every year, IMD runs an online six-week summer research program for advanced high school students, who work in groups on projects of various scope and difficulty, tailored to their backgrounds and interests. Most of the projects are hands-on as they involve analysis of real-life data from elections or the census. Students typically meet twice a week with an instructor, as well as with each other so they can collaborate on the research projects. Some of the past projects include the study of the influence of court decisions on measures of gerrymandering, like the efficiency gap, partisan bias, and compactness scores, and the effect of alternative sizes and apportionments of House of Representatives on presidential elections.

All students and faculty also meet once a week for guest lectures given by prominent mathematicians and democracy reformers. One session is dedicated to a discussion of the college application process and the final session consists of presentations of the projects (here are some of the presentations from the 2025 program*).

If you’re a high school student interested in participating in IMD’s summer 2026 online research program, visit this page. Linked there is a form you should fill out to apply by March 6, 2026.

If you have any questions, feel free to write to us at contact@math-democracy.org. We are looking forward to reading your application!