About

MathROOTS is a free two-week residential mathematics program hosted by MIT PRIMES on the MIT campus. It is designed for high-potential high school students with a genuine interest in creative and exploratory mathematics — particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds or underserved communities who may not have had access to advanced mathematical training. The program sits within the MIT PRIMES ecosystem, which also encompasses the year-round PRIMES research program and the PRIMES Circle mentorship initiative, giving MathROOTS students direct access to one of the world's foremost university mathematics research environments.

Admission is nationally competitive and decided on a rolling basis after the March 3 application deadline, with decisions expected in late April or early May. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or currently attending high school in the U.S. and are required to have solid grounding in precalculus-level mathematics; calculus is explicitly not required. The program very strongly encourages students who have demonstrated resilience, resourcefulness, and initiative in overcoming barriers to learning — language that signals an intentional and primary focus on students from underserved communities rather than a supplemental diversity preference. The application is submitted through MIT PRIMES's SlideRoom portal.

Over fourteen days, students engage in a curriculum built around creative problem-solving, mathematical proof, and ideas well outside the standard high school sequence. Instruction is led by MIT faculty, graduate students, and staff with backgrounds in both research mathematics and competition math. The program's own materials describe its core aim as exposing students to "beautiful yet accessible ideas in mathematics" — an approach closer in spirit to HCSSiM or Canada/USA Mathcamp than to a competition-training model. Students participate in classes, group problem-solving sessions, and invited lectures, with the broader goal of building both mathematical fluency and a durable peer community.

MathROOTS does not culminate in a research paper or competition submission, and should not be compared to MIT PRIMES's year-round research track or top-tier programs like HCSSiM or PROMYS. Its genuine distinction lies in its MIT institutional home, its free cost structure, and its specific mission of expanding access to serious mathematical thinking for students who have not had clear pathways into elite math culture. For that target student, it is one of the most valuable two-week mathematics programs in the country.