About

Discover STEM is a free, one-week summer day camp for rising 11th and 12th graders hosted by the University of Minnesota's College of Science and Engineering on the Twin Cities campus, sponsored by 3M. The program introduces students to the breadth of STEM opportunities within the college — covering fields across all 18 CSE departments — through lab experiments, technology demonstrations, research facility tours, and conversations with faculty, graduate students, industry alumni, and undergraduate students. No prior STEM experience is required, and applications are reviewed holistically, with attention to diversity of background, community leadership, and experience overcoming barriers to educational access.

The program is explicitly designed as a pipeline into higher education in STEM, and it works: over two-thirds of Discover STEM participants go on to apply to the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities. For a Minnesota high school student entering junior or senior year who is curious about STEM but hasn't narrowed a direction, Discover STEM offers a well-organized, free week on one of the country's premier public research university campuses — fully subsidized by a company with deep roots in science and engineering.