About

The Fermilab Program for Research, Innovation, and STEM Mentorship (PRISM) is a four-week paid summer program at Fermilab — the U.S. Department of Energy's premier particle physics and accelerator laboratory, located in Batavia, Illinois — for current Illinois high school seniors and recent high school graduates. It is one of the very few programs that gives high schoolers direct access to a national physics laboratory and the scientists who run it.

PRISM is structured as a rotating weekly curriculum rather than a single sustained research project. Each of the four weeks focuses on a different scientific theme — particle physics, quantum science, engineering design, and artificial intelligence — delivered through hands-on activities, expert-led lectures, and exclusive tours of Fermilab's research facilities. The program is hybrid, combining on-site and off-site work, and runs July 13 through August 7. Participants are expected to produce a research abstract, a research poster, and a final presentation by the end of the program. The application requires a letter of recommendation from a STEM teacher or STEM club advisor; no prerequisite coursework is required, though students are asked to list the STEM courses they have completed to assist with content planning. Eligibility is limited to U.S. citizens enrolled in an Illinois high school who will be seniors in the 2026–2027 school year or who graduated in 2026.

PRISM is not a traditional research internship in the mode of programs where students join a single lab for a summer. Its value lies elsewhere: concentrated exposure to the full scope of what a world-class physics laboratory actually does, across disciplines, in four weeks, with direct access to the scientists doing it. For an Illinois student who has never considered particle physics or quantum science as a real career path, PRISM is designed to open their eyes to new possibilities.