About

The Engineering Summer Program, run by the University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Engineering's Diversity Affairs Office, is a free, three-week residential engineering immersion for rising high school juniors and seniors. Founded in 1982 and running July 11–31, 2026, ESP covers all costs — housing in Dejope Hall, three meals per day, and all program materials — for every admitted student. The program is designed explicitly to broaden participation in engineering, with a structural focus on recruiting women, students of color, and first-generation and low-income students who might not otherwise encounter engineering as a path.

Eligibility requires US citizenship or permanent residency, current sophomore or junior standing, completed coursework in algebra, geometry, and chemistry, and a minimum 3.0 GPA. The application includes a personal essay, official transcript, letters of recommendation from a math teacher and a science teacher, and a $40 application fee that may be waived for students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Admissions are holistic and highly selective; decisions are released by April 30, 2026.

The curriculum mirrors the foundational coursework of a first-year engineering student: math, physics, chemistry, engineering design, and technical communication, delivered through faculty-led instruction, hands-on workshops, and a team-based engineering project that runs throughout the three weeks. Weekly industry site visits take students inside companies including GE Healthcare, Rockwell Automation, Alliant Energy, Spectrum Brands, and Delve, giving them direct exposure to practicing engineers across a range of specialties. College preparation workshops covering financial aid and admissions are woven into the schedule, and weekends include excursions around Madison — lake outings, campus exploration, and the kind of community-building that has produced, by the program's own account, a remarkably sticky outcome: at least 40% of ESP participants who attend as rising seniors go on to enroll as first-year students in UW-Madison's College of Engineering the following fall.

ESP is not a research program — students do not conduct original research under individual faculty mentors — but it occupies an important and underserved niche in the pre-college landscape. A fully funded, highly selective, three-week engineering immersion run directly by one of the country's strongest public engineering schools, with a decades-long track record and a clear pipeline into UW-Madison, makes a compelling case for any rising junior or senior with engineering ambitions who meets the eligibility criteria. For students from underrepresented backgrounds in particular, ESP combines serious academic content with the kind of college-preparation infrastructure that programs at this price point rarely offer.